


Mass Effect ~ The happy ending we deserved.

by Whitesabretooth



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, how it should have ended
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:21:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 203,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22796992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whitesabretooth/pseuds/Whitesabretooth
Summary: I am kind of late to the whole Mass Effect universe as I only started to play a few years ago when a work mate introduced me. Together we bounced ideas around and came up with a loose idea on how this whole saga should have ended. So I decided to write it up and share it with you.I also fully believe that a Character that goes through all that should be allowed a happy ending even though we know that doesn't happen in real life.
Relationships: EDI/Jeff "Joker" Moreau, Female Shepard/Liara T'Soni, Garrus Vakarian/Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, Jack | Subject Zero/Miranda Lawson, James Vega/Ashley Williams, Tevos/Aria T'Loak
Comments: 25
Kudos: 157





	1. Chapter 1 - The Battle of London

**Author's Note:**

> Back ground: Female Shepard, born on Mindoir and with the sole survivor background with the romance option Liara T'Soni. A mainly paragon character but with some renegade actions mainly because they were too good to pass up (you know the ones). I've started this story in the middle of the Battle of London. I've added a few cannons of my own as well as some accepted cannons.  
> Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry… But please don’t be an asshat about it.

Chapter 1 – The Battle of London.

“The lord is my Shepard; I shall not want.” Ashely began to pray even as she killed the husks before her. “He makes me lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters.” Her omni tool blade extended as she turned to take out the husk who had snuck up behind her. “He restores my soul; he guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Slowly Ashley’s words got louder as she fought her way through a swarm of husks using her gun and blade. “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow death, I fear no evil because Shepard is the biggest bad-est mother fucker there is.” Ashely called out as she slammed a husk down and then stomped on its head crushing it.

“Oorah…” was called by those nearby and could hear her.

“Seriously Williams…” Jane complained as she threw out a biotic slam which picked up a cannibal and then slammed it into the ground hard killing it.

“It’s true…” She replied as she swapped to her sniper rifle to snipe a few enemies who were further off.

“It’s true…” Jane corrected her even as she lifted her rifle to take out some new enemies.

“Seriously…” Ashley complained for a moment. “It’s true… ma’am.” She corrected.

“Don’t you feel better now,” Jane replied with a grin.

Javik threw out his own powers, “is this how you primitives fight.”

“How many reapers have you taken down?” Jane snapped back at the ancient alien. “That’s right… none… us… we’ve killed three… banter keeps us strong…”

“Pftt… he is just angry because he can’t catch up…” Garrus explained as he killed another two.

The scream that pierced through the din of battle set everyone on edge. It was followed by more piercing screams.

“BANSHEES!” Liara called as she pointed to the three monsters that had just made their way forward.

“Come on,” Vega complained even as he lobbed a cluster grenade at them.

Jane lifted her sniper rifle, “Strip their shields, don’t let them get close.” She called, checking her Indra she made sure disrupter ammo was active and then took aim at the closet banshee and started to shoot. Garrus and Ashley each took their own banshee leaving the small fries for the others.

Jane’s banshee imploded first, quickly she scanned the kill zone. “BRUTES!” she called just as reinforcements arrived.

“Hello princess.” A brash male voice said as it dropped from the shuttle and landed on top of the brute then fired his shot gun at point blank range.

“I will destroy you,” another voice said as a second brute was smashed with a biotic blast which sent it reeling before another Krogan landed on its head crushing it.

“I thought you could use a hand,” Anderson said over the radio, “So I sent your people to you.”

Samara, Jack, Liara, Javik, Miranda and an Asari Commando sent the enemy flying or in pieces. Grunt and Wrex smashed their way through the fighting like Krogan were known for with Zaeed cleaning up behind them. Garrus, Jane, Ashley, Edi and Vega were joined by Jacob who threw out a biotic slam. They managed to clear the site and got a moment of quiet.

Jane stared at the person in commando blacks trying to figure out who they were. Her eyes scanned over the person’s body; she was pretty sure she recognised that arse. “Aria?”

“Yes… yes…” Aria took off her helmet and then tossed it aside, no point in hiding her identity now.

“You’re on Earth?” Jane questioned.

“Long story… but yes.” Aria answered in a way that meant she didn’t want to go into it.

“You’re here?” Jane continued a little disbelievingly.

“I couldn’t sit and do nothing… so I offered my help…” Aria explained getting a little irritated, although she kept it from her face. She understood Jane’s scepticism, she essentially had a selfish personality although she knew deep down that was slowly changing.

Jane went to say something but the look on Samara’s face had her stopping. “Um… Thanks.”

“Welcome to the cult of Shepard, beware though… she’ll make you… dependable.” Jack told her with dry humour.

“By the way… why wasn’t I invited to your party?” Aria asked as she reloaded her shotgun, the N7 Piranha she had ‘borrowed’ from Jane back when they took back Omega.

“I invited Thea and told her she could bring you… neither of you came so I assumed…” Jane started to say.

Wrex laughed and gave Aria a friendly pat on the back. “AR- “

There was a loud thump nearby, everyone turned and lifted their weapons only to lower them as a large Geth prime stood up and walked forward. “Shepard Commander, I have supplies.”

“Hey… isn’t that a piece of your old armour…” Ashley asked as she gestured to the piece fused to its chest plate.

“Yeah… the primes from the server we liberated each have a piece… taken from the SRV 1 crash site… apparently… there were holes.” Jane explained. “Long story just smile and nod.”

Ashley nodded and walked forward like everyone; to stock up on clips, grenades and medi-gel. Jane studied the prime she had met a couple of them, this one had a few scars on its body that were familiar. “You are the prime who greeted me after Legion’s death?” she questioned.

“That was I,” the Geth replied.

“Huh… do you have a name?” Jane quickly stuffed some food into her and some water, she didn’t have a lot of biotic powers but she had a couple and using them burnt energy like there was no tomorrow. The other biotics were also fuelling up. She was also pretty sure that this prime unit was the one who spoke to her in the server as well.

“No… there has not been time to pick a name.” it replied.

Jane nodded and ran a hand through her messy red hair. “Right… mind if I give you a name?”

“He is Legion’s heir, why not just call him Legionnaire?” Edi queried.

“Again Edi…” Jane complained, she hadn’t named Legion either, although she had offered.

“Although the name does not match the sentiment… I... like it…” Legionnaire told them. “I will be Legionnaire.”

“You need to go now.” Jane started to say, they were so close to the device which connected to the citadel.

“I wish to fight in Legion’s place…” Legionnaire told her.

Jane considered him for a moment then sighed, “Okay, but when I tell you to fall back and evacuate to a Faraday cage you obey. I promised Legion that I would protect his people, don’t make me a lair.”

“Acknowledged.” Legionnaire told her.

Jane watched as her people gathered around her. “I would wish you all luck…”

“We don’t need luck we’ve got ammo,” Everyone except Aria and Legionnaire called back as they were not used to the somewhat normal saying of those who followed Commander Shepard on a regular basis. After all it was tattooed into Jane’s left forearm, a gift from Jack during one of their shore leaves on the citadel.

“Right… let’s go fuck up the Reaper’s day by killing the lot of them.” she checked her gun then stood straight and saluted her team. “Whose like us?” she demanded to know in a loud voice.

“Damn few and those who aren’t are dead. Oorah.” Everyone called back again except for Aria and Legionnaire, James (Vega), Jacob and Ashley saluted her back while the others simply nodded their heads, those on the Normandy had a slightly different saying to what other Alliance Marines used but it mattered very little as the sentiment was the same.

“So… who’s winning so far?” She asked to lighten the mood a little.

“I am,” everyone except the Asari and the Geth replied.

“Really Wrex… all those eager females have dulled your edge; besides, you weren’t with us when we took down the Collectors, you’ll never catch up.” Garrus teased.

Jane stepped between the two even as Samara gave her team mates a slightly disapproving look. “You do realise… none of you will win.” Samara told everyone with a small smile, “because my money is on Shepard.”

“That’s cheating and you don’t even have money!” Jack declared, “Besides… Jane’s kill count isn’t included.”

Aria leant in a little to Liara, “Is this normal?”

Liara sighed, “yes.”

Aria shrugged, “As long as they don’t get me killed, I want… everything-is-going-to-be-okay-we-survived sex.” She told the group.

“Okay let’s shorty.” Jane said as she pushed forward. Anderson and his reinforcements showed up at the final push just as her group did. They quickly took stock of the kill zone.

“Forward!” Admiral Anderson yelled and everyone started to move down the slope.

Just as they started to pick up steam a large shadow fell over the field. Everyone slowed and watched as the largest of the Reapers landed near the device.

 _“These attacks are pointless… nothing stands against us… Evolution cannot be stopped,”_ Harbinger told Shepard as it seized her mind.

Jane groaned and dropped to her knees and then to the ground mid stride.

“Shepard!” Liara exclaimed. Jack, Aria, Miranda and Samara combined their biotic fields and put up a barrier as they waited to find out what was going on with Jane.

~~~~~~~~

_Jane glanced around at the blank landscape, it reminded her of what the Leviathans had done, back when she met the creators of the Reapers, Harbinger was trying to indoctrinate her, just as the Leviathans had wanted to make her a Thrall._

_“If I must tear you apart, Shepard, I will.” Harbinger told her._

_“I won’t go down without a fight!” Jane told him as she tried to focus, to force her mind back into her body instead of this weird limbo._

_“Why do you resist us, Shepard?” Harbinger asked even as it clawed and chewed at her mind trying to bend it to their will._

_“You want to destroy my world, my people… everything I love.” Jane told him as she felt chained in place._

_“We are your genetic destiny,” Harbinger told her._

_“No… you aren’t… you are a machine… made by organics and you will be destroyed by them.” Shepard fought._

_“You will regret your resistance, Shepard.” Harbinger._

_“I am human, resisting is practically a prerequisite for us, we resist oppressors, we resist that which we believe is wrong… and you… are wrong… organic and synthetic can live together… fight together… exist together.” Jane argued even as she tried to think of a way out of this, how had Benezia fought this._

_“You are arrogant, Shepard, you will learn.”_

_Jane shook her head, “No…” she focused on what she believed had snapped the Matriarch out of indoctrination. Love, love for her daughter. “You are the arrogant ones… after all this time… after all you have seen… all the people you have consumed… you still know absolutely nothing about what it means to be alive.” Jane felt power flow through her, the power of her love and used it to wrench her mind from Harbinger’s grasp._

~~~~~~~~

With a gasp Jane opened her eyes and lurched to her feet, back in control of her body.

“What was that?” Jack demanded to know.

“Harbinger…” Jane started to say but felt Harbinger claw at her mind and dragged her back, her body collapsed again.

~~~~~~~~

_“You escaped us before, Shepard, not again.” Harbinger told her. “Embrace perfection.”_

_Jane laughed, “What are you talking about I am perfect.”_

_“You are vermin,” Harbinger told her._

_“Really… then why do you want me… why am I the one you need to be the human reaper.” Jane taunted. “Do you even know why you are fixated on me.”_

_Harbinger started to show her images of her dead friends, “Your death is assured.”_

_Again, Jane laughed, “Do you know how many times I have died? Heck… the collectors killed me… all it did was piss me off. You think you can control me… kill me… this isn’t real.”_

_“Your allies have fallen… you have no one left… and now you stand alone, Shepard.”_

_Jane took a deep breath, “Never… even if they die… I will carry them with me… I will never be alone!”_

~~~~~~~~

Again, Jane shook her head as she opened her eyes, her head pounded in pain, and a tickle of blood ran from her nose, someone had rolled her onto her back and she was being cradled by Liara. “He is trying to indoctrinate me,” she told the people around her who were keeping her safe even as they fought off the enemy.

“Lola… you fighting that?” Vega asked shocked.

“Yes… and…”

~~~~~~~~

_“Shepard, you cannot stop us. Progress cannot be halted… we are the harbinger of your destiny.” Harbinger told her._

_Jane sighed, “Really this rhetoric again.” She told the mind which was trying to grab a hold of hers but for some reason it couldn’t grab hold. “I chose my destiny, and my destiny is to destroy you…”_

_“Shepard, I always survive.”_

_Jane took a deep breath before she broke free again, “Not this time… this time… you die and I survive… Now get… the… FUCK… OUT… OF… MY… HEAD!” Golden light exploded out from her, filling her mind and sweeping Harbinger out of her mind for good._

~~~~~~~~

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!” Jane yelled much to the shock of those around her. “He is going to attack us… now.” She warned just as Harbinger opened fire. They all had just enough time to get behind cover.

“He won’t let us get close.” Jane told them as she wiped away the blood from under her nose. “We will…”

Liara grabbed Jane and held her head between her hands and searched her eyes.

“He tried… he failed… in fact… towards the end… it was almost… easy to throw him off.” Jane explained.

“Show me,” Liara’s eyes became black as she did a quick meld, just to ensure that Jane was still herself. With a gasp she broke the meld, she had felt the wounds of Harbinger’s attempt to take her mind, or at least what should have been deep wounds. They were there, but something golden and shimmering knitted the wounds together brightly and protected her mind.

“Is it still her?” Javik asked as he went to lift his rifle, ready to take out the Commander if she was compromised.

“Yes… she… it is Shepard.” Liara explained mystified. “How did you…”

“Hey… as interesting as this is… we can’t hold this spot.” Aria complained.

Jane got onto her communicator and was broadcasting to everyone in range, “Alright everyone… this is Commander Shepard… Anyone with Cains… when Harbinger goes to fire, he opens himself up as he charges his shot, so that he doesn’t overheat, gives himself a weakness. In waves, aim Cains at the opening and fire. Everyone else cover the people with Cains, give them time to aim and fire.”

“Heh… heh… heh…” Grunt pulled forward the Cain he had strapped to his back and stroked it tenderly. “Was saving it for something big and now I get to use it to take down Harbinger.”

“Okay… so we have a what… now how?” Ashley asked.

“We draw his fire. Like I did on Rannoch.” Jane took a deep breath as she assessed her body. Once she was satisfied that her two falls hadn’t done much to her other than a couple of faint bruises she got to her feet.

“Wait what?” Aria questioned.

“Right… I took down a Reaper with a laser pointer.” Jane explained and Aria gave her an incredulous look.

“And the migrant fleet,” Tali corrected.

“What…” Aria started to say, if she got the gist of that conversation, Jane had let a Reaper aim and fire at her in order to target the open section of the ship. She had thought Shepard was a little on the crazy side, after all she had helped her to retake Omega, but not full blown insane.

Samara placed a hand on Aria’s arm and she only just managed not to flinch, she doubted that she would ever be fully at ease around the Justicar. “Believe it or not… but crazy ideas… tend to actually work… when she does them.” She told Aria in a comforting tone and with a confident air about her. After all, Samara had already survived a suicide mission so was able to be confident about this crazy plan.

“Don’t forget Lola… you also took down a Reaper with a Thresher Maw.” James added.

Jane sighed and patted her pockets. “Sorry fresh out of Mother of all Thresher Maws.”

Aria glanced around but since no one seemed to think the statement was weird she had to believe that had actually happened, that or they were all in on pulling her leg.

“Seriously… another suicide mission?” Miranda complained even as she reloaded.

“You knew this was a suicide mission when Anderson asked… we all did.” Jacob told her.

“Right…” Miranda replied before she turned, grabbed Jack by her jacket, pulled her close and kissed her. Jack blinked in shock when Miranda broke the kiss. “Just in case we die.” She told the other woman before she released her. Jane snorted in amusement.

James held Ashley’s hand, “Don’t plan to die… but I what I would do to you…” he gave her a heated look which caused Ashley to blush. He leant in and gave her a gentle kiss.

Liara leant over and kissed Jane on the cheek and then they rested their foreheads against each other. Tali and Garrus held hands. Jane smiled after giving everyone a few moments to collect themselves, “Alright everyone… good luck.”

“We don’t need luck we’ve got ammo,” Everyone said flawlessly a few moments later they ran out from their cover and started to unleash everything they had at Harbinger and his forces. Harbinger opened his firing port and started to charge its shot.

 **“ _Shepard, you cannot escape your destiny.”_** Harbinger said aloud and for everyone to hear. **“ _I know you feel this, this hurts you. But nothing stands against us.”_**

“INGORE HIM!” Jane ordered even as she threw out a slam to smash a Cannibal.

“CAIN!” A voice called out over the coms as two Cains flew in and exploded. Everyone turned their heads and covered their eyes just before the bright explosion happened, knocking Harbinger back a few steps but they had been slightly off course, his shot went off wildly carving a path of destruction that only just missed them.

“Again, remember aim for the gun while it’s charging,” Jane called as she sliced a husk in half and started to run again, putting some space between her and her team as she realised Harbinger was targeting her.

 **“ _These attacks are pointless… our power us unmatched… if I must tear you part, Shepard, I will.”_** Harbinger told them all as again he went to fire, ignoring everyone else on the field and focusing solely on Jane. Reaper forces also were focused on Jane, trying to hold her still but her team cleared the area around her giving her room to move and dodge. “CAINS,” someone yelled down the coms as again Cains were fired and everyone turned their heads and waited as the explosion rocked the field. This time however Harbinger had moved slightly, the Cain hit one of his legs and exploded, blowing the leg off making it unstable, again its shot flew wild only this time it flew high and off into the distance hitting a Destroyer class Reaper and taking it down. There was a cheer as they watched Harbinger unsteadily tried to balance itself, but in order for the weirdly shaped form to be balanced it had to stop moving and shifting. With it not moving it would give them a much better chance of targeting that one little weakness.

**_“Impressive, Shepard… this body does not matter… We are the beginning; you are the end… You cannot stop us. Shepard… submit now.”_ **

“Take your time, aim for the gun port when it is charging.” Jane called into her communicator even as she fought off Reaper forces which slipped through the ring of death around her.

Again, Harbinger tried to fire at Jane and she let him, standing still, confident that her team or someone could make the shot if she just gave them a chance and also confident that her team could keep most of the Reaper forces off her. **_“Shepard, you could have been useful.”_** He told her as he focused and charged his gun on her.

“FUCK YOU!” Jane yelled even as she killed a husk that had slipped through.

“I AM KROGAN!” Grunt and Wrex yelled together as they finally fired their Cains.

“CAINS!” Ashley called. These Cains flew true and landed in the open part of Harbinger and exploded, since he hadn’t fired his charged shot the discharged power combined with the Cains caused a massive explosion internally. Harbinger took a few teetering steps back before it collapsed to the ground. There was a large collective cheer from the combined forces as they watched the behemoth machine fall.

“SHEPARD!”

Jane turned to Ashley’s frantic call, Liara was hurt, purple blood ran down her head and painted her side. “Normandy do you copy. I need an evac, Right now!” Jane ran over to her team, many of them were hurt in the fight but none of them looked critical.

“We are taking heavy losses up here, Commander.” Joker warned. “We’re on our way, Commander!” In minutes the Normandy was hovering with the ramp down.

“Come on,” She said as she got Liara to her feet and partially carried her to the waiting ship.

Garrus got to the ship just before them, the others were already up the ramp and those who could were laying down cover fire.

“Here, take her,” Jane said as she passed the love her life off to Garrus.

“Shepard!” Liara cried out, not wanting to leave her.

“You gotta get out of here,” Jane told her as Garrus wrapped his arms around her firmly.

“I’m all right Shepard…” Liara told her trying to stay with her, reaching for her.

“Don’t argue with me, Liara,” Jane told her firmly.

“You’re not leaving me behind,” Liara told her, her voice full of hurt, it almost sounded like a goodbye.

“No matter what happens… you mean everything to me, Liara. You always have and you always will.” Jane told her gently as she cupped Liara’s face. She didn’t want this to be a goodbye and she was going to try her hardest to make sure it wasn’t, but if it was… she needed Liara to know, she let her love fill her eyes, hoping that Liara could see it.

“Shepard, Jane, I…” Liara started to say and Jane stepped back. “I am yours.”

Jane noticed the forces coming, “GO!” she ordered before she ran back into the fray.

The Normandy took back to the skies dodging fire now that it had its pickup. She still had a job to do as she ran to the device, she killed anything that got in her way.

 **“ _You think you have won… progress cannot be halted… I always survive…”_** Harbinger said as it fired for the final time, its segmented body moved jaggedly, only just managing to open its firing port enough to fire. If it stopped Shepard, the reapers would still win, the organics would have no rallying cry, no champion to save them.

Jane dodged at the last moment missing the main part of the beam but not the secondary parts of it. She was sent flying from explosion and the heat burnt part of her left arm.

Jane groaned, not knowing if she had been knocked out. She could hear the fighting still going on around her, calls from team leaders telling people to fall back. And frantic calls between units, they had seen Jane, so close to the explosion.

“I see the commander… she’s up…” a crackly voice came over the com.

“Cover the commander,” a commanding voice said. Gingerly she got to her feet, her suit automatically dispensed some medi-gel letting her know she was hurt, badly, she grabbed at the only weapon she had left, a pistol. But she was so close so she kept moving. Three husks came at her almost slowly, lifting her pistol she killed the husks quickly before pain lanced through her side sending her to her knees. Getting back up she continued to move closer to the device which would send her to the citadel.

A marauder came into view and shot her causing her to cry out, she started to shoot at it as it moved slowly, was the world moving slowly, or was she moving fast. The marauder went down after a couple of shots, a complete miracle she would later remark. She felt the edges of her consciousness grow dark but she focused and continued to move forward, just a few more steps she was in the white beam of light.

~*~*~

Jane didn’t know if she had passed out mid transport or not but she found herself on the ground again.

“Shepard…” a familiar voice said in her ear. With a groan she started to push herself up. “Shepard…” the voice said urgently into her ear. Getting to her hands and knees was a struggle but she managed.

“Anderson. You up here, too?” She asked as she rested on her knees her body at least partially upright, she spotted her pistol and knowing she probably wouldn’t be able to get down to pick it up once she was up again, she leant over and grabbed it before pushing herself shakily to her feet.

“Followed you up,” Anderson told her, “But we didn’t come out in the same place… at least I don’t think we did.” He explained. “What’s your surroundings like?” he asked.

Jane glanced around as she hugged her left side, pain laced through her for a moment before her suit dispensed a dose of emergency medi-gel. For a moment she was pleased that she had forked out the huge amount of credits for that particular suit upgrade, still didn’t stop her from groaning. She spotted a Keeper working to the side, was tempted to shoot it but she curbed the impulse, she didn’t have a lot of ammo and she didn’t know what was going to be before her.

“You okay?” Anderson asked.

Jane chuckled once, “I feel like death… but I’m moving.” She told him before she started to move forward in a shuffling limp. “It’s dark… there’s human remains… scattered.” She reported.

“Sounds familiar,” Anderson told her. “I’m in a dark hallway… reminds me of your descriptions of the Collector Base.”

Jane paused, “Makes sense.” She told him.

“You think they’re making a Reaper in here now?” Anderson asked alarmed.

“Sure. They round them up on Earth, then send the people up here to be processed.” Jane agreed as she tried to straighten her body but it just seemed like too much hassle. She started to move again.

“Goddamn abomination.” Anderson exclaimed. “I’m going to keep moving. The sooner we blow these bastards back to hell, the better.” He told Jane. “The tubes don’t go on forever… but where the hell are, we?” he questioned.

“Yeah,” Jane agreed. “Doesn’t look like any part of the Citadel I’ve been to.” She told him still moving forward only now she could see a doorway, slowly she wove her way through the piles of bodies and even saw another Keeper doing something.

“Whoa,” Anderson suddenly said.

“Anderson?” Jane questioned.

“One of the walls here just realigned itself.” Anderson explained. “The place is shifting. Changing.”

Jane kept moving.

“There’s a chasm here… and more hallways like the one I was in.” he described for her.

“I think I am near an exit,” Jane told him just as the doors slid open.” She walked through the now open doors and moved forward and then down a ramp.

“I see something up ahead, might be a way to cross over.” He told her.

“Don’t get too far ahead of me.” She told him just as she got to the bottom of the ramp. A ramp leading up was on the other side of an open walkway.

“Where do you think you’re at?” He asked.

Jane glanced around, “Just found that chasm you were talking about.” She answered.

“Hold on… I see something. A control panel maybe.” He told her. “I’m just going to go ahead to check-“ He went silent.

“Anderson?” Jane called concerned. “Damn it!” she complained when she got no response, another dose of medi-gel was dispensed from her suit. She started to slowly walk up the ramp on the other side of the catwalk. When she got to the top of the ramp, she came upon a circular room with a person standing before a control panel. She just kept moving forward as she got closer to the person at the terminal, she realised it was Anderson but at the same time she realised something was… off. Like her he was holding his side, a blood red stain soaked the back of his fatigues.

“Anderson!” Jane called.

He turned around, releasing his wound and moved in a way that made him look like he was a puppet.

“Shepard… I can’t…” Anderson told her. 

Jane heard steps behind her but didn’t have the energy to turn.

“I underestimated you, Shepard.” The Illusive Man remarked. She felt the claws of indoctrination try to worm into her mind, the golden barrier protected her but she decided to play along.

“What have…” she asked, hoping that her acting skills were up to par.

The Illusive Man came to stand before her. “I warned you. Control is the means to survival. Control of the Reapers… and you, if necessary.” He told her arrogantly.

Anderson grunted, “They’re controlling you.” He spat out in understanding.

“I don’t think so, Admiral.” The Illusive Man replied.

“Controlling me is a lot different than controlling a Reaper.” Jane told him.

“Have a little faith.” He told her.

“When humanity discovered the mass relays… when we learned there was more to the galaxy than what we imagined.” He started to spout as he walked around. “There were some who thought the mass relays should be destroyed. They were scared of what we might find. Terrified of what we might let in.” he told her trying to justify what he had done. Jane continued to play along, hoping she could get him to fight, for just one moment.

“But look at what Humanity has achieved. Since that discovery we have advanced more than in the past 10,000 years combined.” He explained. “And the Reapers will do the same for us again. A thousand-fold. But…”

The Illusive Man paused, as if sensing he hadn’t quite gotten control of Jane. She felt the push of indoctrination and pretended to have it hurt her head. She heard the command he wanted her to do, to point her gun at Anderson. She did as he wanted, for now, lifted her gun and pointed it at Anderson. She gave him a mock mortified look, hoping she had just the right amount of mortification in her eyes.

“… only if we can harness their ability to control.”

Anderson managed to hold out his hand, to try to stop Jane. “Bullshit. We destroy them, or they destroy us.” He told the Illusive man firmly.

“And waste this opportunity? Never.” The Illusive Man replied.

“You’re playing with things you don’t understand. With power you shouldn’t be able to use.” Jane told him even as she kept her eyes on him as he moved around. Wondering how he could use indoctrination, was it him or was it the reapers working through him.

“I… don’t believe that. If we can control it, why shouldn’t it be ours?” he told her.

“Because we’re not ready,” Jane told him truthfully.

“No. This is the way humanity must evolve.” He told her, slight hesitation in his tone.

“There’s always another way.” Anderson told him even as he began to feel light headed.

“I’ve dedicated my life to understanding the Reapers, and I know with certainty; the Crucible will allow me to control them.” he told the pair confidently.

“And then what?” Jane asked, knowing she had to bring an end to this soon.

“Look at the power they wield! Look at what they can do!” He argued as he sent the command for Jane to shoot Anderson, to kill him.

She turned her gun and pointed it at the Illusive Man, refusing his command. “I see what they did to you.” She told him firmly.

He was furious that she had managed to ignore his command. “I took what I wanted from them. Made it my own! This isn’t about me or you. It’s about things so much larger than all of us.” He told her, again trying to take back control of her mind, not knowing that if Harbinger, the first fucking Reaper couldn’t control her mind, his half attempt most definitely was destined to fail.

“He’s wrong. Don’t listen to him.” Anderson said, not understanding how Jane had managed to fight of the mental command and fervently hoped she could keep doing it.

“And who will you listen to, Shepard? An old solider, stuck in his ways, only able to see the world down the barrel of a gun.” The Illusive Man taunted as he moved closer to Anderson, not realising that her gun was trained on him. “And what if he’s wrong? What if controlling the Reapers is the answer?”

“If we destroy the Reapers, this ends today. But if you can’t control them…” Jane told him

“But I can!” He proclaimed.

“Are you willing to bet Humanity’s existence on it?” Jane said, her ultimate trump card.

“I know it will work.” The Illusive Man said but there was clearly conflict within him.

“You can’t can you? They won’t let you do it.” Jane told him in understanding.

“No! I’m in control. No one is telling me what to do!” he argued.

“Listen to yourself.” Anderson coaxed. “You’re indoctrinated.”

“No. No! the two of you, so self-righteous. Do you think power like this comes easy? There are sacrifices…”

“You’ve sacrificed too much.” Jane told him as she watched him start to unravel.

“Shepard, I… I only wanted to protect humanity…” He told her. “The Crucible can control them. I know it can, I just…”

“It’s not too late. Let him go. We’ll do the rest.” She told him.

“I… can’t do that, Commander.” He told her regretfully.

“Of course, you can’t…” Anderson told him. “they own you now.”

“You would undo everything I’ve accomplished. I won’t let that happen.” He told her pacing backwards and forwards getting closer to the only other weapon in the room, strapped to Anderson’s side.

“Because of you, Humanity is already undone.” Jane told him.

“That’s not true!” he exclaimed.

“They have the Citadel. They’ve got us fighting each other instead of fighting them.” Jane explained. “You’ve done exactly what the Reapers wanted. You’re still doing it because they control you.”

“I… they’re too strong.” He told her.

“You’re stronger. Don’t let them win. Break their hold. Don’t let them control you.” Jane coaxed, he was so close, if he could just find strength, he would be able to throw of the Reaper indoctrination just long enough for them to open the arms and that was all they needed.

“I tried Shepard,” he told her as he reached for Anderson’s side arm.

“I know.” Jane told him as she fired, killing him pretty instantly. Anderson dropped to the floor the only reason he was standing was because of the Illusive man’s control. Jane stumbled and limped over to Anderson and using her omni-tool she dispensed some medi-gel on his wound, it looked like a piece of metal had been stabbed through him and then removed, she was also glad her omni-tool was still working considering the hammering her left arm had taken. “How… how did you fight him?”

Jane rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah… I think I am immune to indoctrination.”

“You need to open the arms.” Anderson told her.

Jane groaned as she got to her feet and walked over to a terminal. It took a few moments, her suit dispensing another dose of medi-gel. Eventually she entered the right commands and the arms started to open. Slowly she walked over to Anderson who had dragged himself to a raised platform so that he could sit up and watch. She sat down next to him but it was more along the lines of collapsed.

“We did it,” she told him, tossing away her pistol, she had no more ammo for it anyway.

“Yes, we did.” Anderson replied. “It’s quite a view.” He told her.

“Best seats in the house,” Jane agreed as she gave him another dose of medi-gel, glad she had stocked up when Legionnaire had offered. She had six more doses, not including the supplies stored by her suit, her suit stored ten doses, four had been used. She just had to hold out.

“Save it for yourself,” Anderson told her.

“Kahlee will kill me if I didn’t try to help you.” She told him and Anderson chuckled.

“You ever wonder,” he began, “how things would’ve been different? How our lives would be different if this… hadn’t happened?” he asked.

“Sure,” she told him.

“I never had a family, Jane.” He told her feeling his hold on life begin to fade. “Never had children.”

“Hey… did you think… all those years ago… when you, Hackett and Ryder, found me on Mindoir, that I… we would have ended up here?” Jane asked, a little loopy from all the medi-gel being flooded into her system as she dosed herself and then Anderson, four doses left in her omni-tool, six in her suit.

“No… not back then.”

“Liara’s gonna kill me.” Jane remarked as she pulled her burnt and charred left hand and arm away from her side to see it coated in blood, she could feel the foreign object lodged in her side.

Anderson gave her a pained laugh. “You thinking of settling down with Liara.”

“Yeah, I like the sound of that. Little blue babies, white picket fence, hot Asari wife. I’m sure I wouldn’t be much good at it, though.”

“Sure, you would,” Anderson told her honestly. “I think you’d make a great mother.”

Jane smiled, “Technically, according to Asari, I would be the father. But thanks.” She told him.

“Think how proud your kids would be.” He told her. “Telling everyone that their dad is Commander Shepard.”

“I don’t know about that… not everything I’ve done… is something to be proud of.” She told him, they lapsed into silence for several moments.

“God… feels like years since I just sat down.” He told her honestly.

“I think you earned a rest.” She told him and he groaned.

Jane dispensed another dose of medi-gel to his body as her suit dispensed another dose of its emergency supply into her. “Stay with me. We’re almost through this.” She begged, five more doses in her suit, three more in her omni-tool, keeping the mental tally in her head was getting harder.

“You did good, child. You did good. I’m proud of you.” He told her as he lost his grip on consciousness.

“Thank you, sir. Anderson?” Jane felt her eyes start to close, she was so tired, it would be fine if she just closed her eyes for a few minutes. Liara’s face flashed in her mind and she was suddenly wide awake.

“Normandy to the Citadel… please tell me that’s you Commander.” Joker’s voice said over her coms.

“Is that you, Joker?” She asked as she struggled to her feet only to fall down, giving up, she crawled to the terminal.

“Commander, I’m picking up some strange readings.” Joker told her. “Really strange, like off the damn charts.” He reported. Static broke over the com just as she got to the terminal. “… you need to get out before…”

“I’m not sure how to… Joker… Go!” She told him just before she fainted.

She was barely conscious when a shuttle came to hover near them.

“Shepard!” Garrus called as people jumped out of the shuttle with stretchers. They carefully moved her to a stretcher as someone dispensed more medi-gel. Anderson was also bundled into the shuttle beside Jane.

“Cortez get us out of here,” Garrus ordered before he took Jane’s hand. “Hold on just a little longer, we’ve got you.”

~*~*~

“Get her into the Faraday cage with Edi and Legionnaire.” Karin ordered, when they finally figured out what the crucible would do when fired Jane had ordered the creation of a Faraday cage to be installed around Edi’s core to protect her and had made the same orders for other Faraday cages to be made so that the Geth could evacuate to them and be protected from the wave. Even with resources spread thin people had made them to protect their Geth Allies from destruction.

“But…” Someone went to argue.

“She has reaper-based implants in her body… we can’t afford for them to short out on us while we are trying to keep her alive.” Miranda explained. “We will just have to work on her in the cage.”

“Can you get her stable and keep her stable?” Karin asked as she went over Anderson, the wound was bad.

“Jane first,” Anderson told her weakly, he was barely conscious but still wanting Jane to be put first.

“Move them both into the cage and treat them there.” Miranda offered a practical solution as she grabbed a handful of supplies and thrust them into Legionnaire’s arms, “get in there, you too Edi.” The stretcher bearers moved Jane and Anderson into the AI core. They then left as there simply was not enough room for them all. There was already a heap of supplies to treat Jane in the room as Karin had been sure Jane would have been hurt in this battle.

“Hurry up please I can’t out run this forever.” Joker told them over the intercom. “Traynor is going to manually shut off your connection to the ship Edi, make sure you are completely in the AI core.”

“Yes Jeff.” Edi told him as she walked in behind Legionnaire, pulling her consciousness from all parts of the ship. It felt strange for her as she was essentially cutting off her senses but she knew she had to or she could be killed as like the Geth, she had segments of Reaper code in her, the wave would destroy her and as much as she said there were things worth dying for, she also didn’t want to die, she wanted to talk to Jane about it but for the moment Jane was out cold and fighting for her own life. She turned on her omni-tool. “Traynor I am completely within the core; you can cut my connection.”

“Thank you, Edi,” Samantha told her. “Good luck in there.” She added before she signed off.

The stretchers had been placed on the floor; the room was going to be cramped but they were lucky that this room had its own internal power source.

“Lock us in.” Karin said just as Liara slipped pass her and into the room. Karin didn’t bother to order her out as it would waste precious time and she was sure she was going to need the extra hands.

The door slid shut and locked, Edi slid the faraday cage part of the door closed and locked it down. “I don’t know what assistance I can give… please direct me.”

Karin glanced to Liara who was busy trying to cut Jane out of her mangled armour. “Edi strip him down to underwear we need to see everything.” She turned to Legionnaire who was seated in a corner to keep out of the way and braced so that he didn’t stumble and land on the injured humans.

“Legionnaire… hold the drips please.”

Legionnaire held out his arms and Miranda attached drips to arms. “Thanks, frees us up.” She told the AI who simply watched.

“If this helps, I am sorry that this platform is not better suited to help more.” Legionnaire told her.

“It’s fine,” Miranda reassured him, patting his arm in a comforting gesture, before she moved over to Anderson. “I should be able to stabilise Anderson.” Miranda stated, she wasn’t a qualified doctor, but she had enough knowledge and experience to be considered a highly qualified field medic.

“Good, Jane has gone and made a real mess of herself,” Karin remarked as she took a moment to study the wound in her side.

“But she did… you know… save the galaxy… again…” Miranda remarked.

“True… Edi I am going to need your assistance as well as Liara’s.” Karin replied already hard at work. “Let me know if you have any problems. How on earth…”


	2. Chapter 2 ~ Shepard Lives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jane wakes up after the defeat of the Reapers.

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry… But please don’t be an asshat about it.

Chapter 2 – Shepard lives.

_“If I must tear you apart, Shepard, I will.” Harbinger told her._

Jane couldn’t move, she felt heavy all over, no… Harbinger… can’t be…

_“You escaped us before, Shepard, not again.” Harbinger told her. “Embrace perfection.”_

No… no… Jane wanted to strain against the weight holding her down.

_“Shepard, I always survive.”_

I… we killed you, Jane argued as darkness tried to pull her in, trying to suck her into its depths. A blue face floated before her, she reached for it with longing and need. “Liara.” Jane muttered as she dragged her mind from the darkness and forced her eyes open.

Blue filled her vision for a moment before her eyes focused on a familiar face. “Liara,” she breathed as she tried to lift an arm to hold her face only to find her arms restrained.

“Your biotics kept flaring, so they restrained you.” Liara explained as she released the bindings which contained biotic dampeners. Jane lifted her right hand to cup Liara’s face.

Liara rested her forehead against Jane’s. After a few minutes of silence Jane chose to break it. “Did it work? Did we win?”

“Damn… I really do owe that Krogan a hundred credits.” An unknown voice said.

Jane glanced to see an Asari in medical clothes walking towards them, she glanced around the room, it did not look familiar. “Liara… where am I?”

“Destiny Ascension’s medical bay, you’ve been in a medically induced coma for a week, we only just took you off the drugs.” The new Asari answered with a slight frown, she thought it might take a few hours for the drugs to wear off allowing Jane to wake naturally, not less than twenty minutes and that was if she woke at all. Nor she did she expect a coherent Jane, asking questions and to be able to focus, the drugs she had been on were strong, most people woke confused and disorientated.

“You made a bet with Grunt or Wrex?” Liara asked relief tinged her voice as her beloved was awake.

“The young one.” The doctor replied with a shrug, she hadn’t bothered to learn their names.

“Grunt… what did you bet him?” Liara asked, she hoped that her conversation was giving Jane the time she needed to process a little.

“Whether or not she would survive,” Karin said as she walked forward. “But everyone who knows her, knows better than to bet against Shepard.”

Liara gave a strained laugh then turned her attention back to Jane, “We won, the crucible worked.” She finally told her. She didn’t bother to go into specifics, knowing that her love didn’t want specifics at the moment, didn’t need them. she just needed to know it worked, that the war was over and they were safe. When Jane was ready, she would describe or show the footage Samantha had managed to record even as they fled the wave just long enough to protect Edi and to give Karin a little time to work on Jane, of the wave hitting Reapers and them either shutting down or blowing up instantly.

“Good… Anderson?” Jane asked.

“Alive, sadly not kicking, his spine was badly damaged. Miranda thinks a couple of implants similar to yours and she’ll have him back on his feet in no time.” Karin told her.

Jane sighed in relief, her eyes started to take in more details now, her left arm was coated in a thick coat of burns medi-gel, she had been out for a week, it meant the burns were really bad, not surprising. there were thick bandages on her left side of her body, her right knee was also bandaged. Her head turned to Liara, she was dressed in a pair of her N7 sweats, not her usual clothes.

Miranda walked in looking at a pad, she glanced over to see that Jane was awake, “Shepard.” She picked up her pace and came to stand beside Liara. “You’re awake.”

Jane nodded, “Don’t know for how long though, I feel tired.”

“You should be,” Miranda remarked as she used her omni-tool to scan Jane. “I just need to run some quick tests, see how your implants are, if we need to repair or not, the sooner we know the sooner we can organise.”

Jane nodded in understanding. Miranda moved down to the bottom of the table and used a probe to touch the bottom of Jane’s left foot. It twitched and Jane pulled her foot away.

“Miranda…” Jane warned.

“Have to make sure the implants in your spine and legs are still working.” Miranda put the probe down and expertly tickled Jane’s right foot.

Jane jerked her foot away, even though her knee protested and lifted her head. “Hey… stop it I’m ticklish.”

Miranda chuckled. “I know, even in a coma you would jerk away whenever someone touched the soles of your feet.” She moved away from Jane’s feet and hovered her omni-tool over Jane, checking her implants. “Lift your arms and make fists for me.” After the incident with the Geth/human VI and once they were free of the Illusive Man, Edi, Mordin, Legion, Tali and herself had re-written the codes for the implants to make them really hard to hack.

Jane lifted her arms and made fists for her.

“Good… they all seem to be working,” Miranda said with a frown.

“Is something wrong?” Liara asked concerned as Jane put her arms down.

“No, at least I don’t think, this is the first time I have checked Jane over since… just after the collector base when we rewrote the codes.” Miranda explained.

“Yes and…” Liara asked a little on edge.

“I am comparing, it seems like… Jane’s body is regressing, de-aging a little, the micro-bots are repairing…”

“Micro bots… Jane shouldn’t have active micro-bots in her body.” Karin remarked, holding up her own omni-tool to do a deeper scan. Like Miranda she was one of the small number of people who had the ability to access the technology within Jane, actually considering two of those people were dead now, it left three people with access. When she had checked Jane over, shortly after getting back onto the Normandy she hadn’t noticed micro-bots

Miranda took a deep breath, “You are right, but we used micro-bots to bring her back, they were in her body, they should have been de-active, for some reason they woke up.”

“Guys… please…” Liara told the pair.

“Um… Jane’s fine… but… and I am guessing… her life span… is going to be longer than mine… most likely, she’ll live a couple hundred years, more maybe.” Miranda told her. “We threw a lot of experimental and untried technology at her to bring her back, anything is possible.”

Liara seemed to release a held breath in relief, Jane was fine. She ran relieved fingers through Jane’s choppy red hair. They would go over the revelation that Jane potentially had a long life ahead of her at a later time. The most important thing was that she was here, alive and besides a slew of more scars she was physically whole.

Leaning down she kissed a new scar on Jane’s face then pressed her face into Jane’s neck.

Jane smiled at Miranda even as she felt her eyes get heavy. “I see Jack’s a biter.”

Karin snorted in amusement as Miranda blushed and tried to cover the mark on her neck.

~*~*~*~

Jane woke a few times over the next few days, every time she did Liara was there, beside her, occasionally others of her team were there, talking with Liara or just sitting beside her quietly. On the fourth day after her first wake up Jane felt wide awake and ready to get out of this med-bay.

With a groan she forced herself up into a seated position, her legs dangled off the side of the bed. Liara wasn’t here but she knew she wasn’t far. Looking at her left arm she noticed that the burns gel was gone and new skin was in place, she glared at the fact that her tattoo was gone, she would have to ask Jack about getting a hold of her artist if they were still alive. Checking her right arm, she sighed when she noticed her other gift from Jack… back before the Omega 4 run… was still present, a few new scars cut through it though making it look more bad ass. She didn’t have to read her tattoo to know what it said, the collectors killed me all it did was piss me off and directly under it Garrus’s name, as he was the one who came up with it.

The door slid open and in walked the Asari doctor with Liara. “Jane…” Liara said in a disapproving tone.

“Liara…” Jane replied as she opened her arms wanting to hug her love. With a resigned sigh Liara walked into Jane’s open arms and they hugged each other for long moments.

“You know… I am getting tired of losing bets.” The Asari doctor complained.

Jane chuckled, “What did you bet against this time?” she asked as she stroked Liara’s face.

“How long it would take for you to get up on your own. I bet a week once you woke up, Karin laughed and said if it takes that long she’ll be amazed.” The doctor supplied.

“Yeah… you probably aren’t used to human resilience.” Jane said with a smile.

“No, we are pretty sure that’s just you.” A familiar male voice said, Jane turned to the voice and went to slide off the bed but Liara held her still. Anderson was wheeled into the room by another Asari.

“Anderson!” Jane said with a smile and again tried to get off the table.

“As you were,” Anderson ordered to keep Jane still.

“Karin told me…” Jane said concerned.

Anderson waved her away. “Miranda says a couple of implants and I will be fine. She is working with a Geth engineer as we speak. Besides it wasn’t you who did this to me it was the Illusive Man who stabbed me.”

The rest of the council walked in behind him. Thea Tevos gave Jane a friendly smile.

Again, Jane went to get to her feet.

“Just stay still.” Liara told her firmly.

“Please Shepard, you don’t have to stand for us.” Thea told her.

Once Liara was sure Jane wasn’t going to try to get to her feet again she stepped aside and held her hands behind her back in a military fashion, something she had picked up from her time on the Normandy, as the council came to stand before Jane.

“We just came to portray our thanks.” Sparatus told her.

“Let me guess… awards right?” Jane asked and Thea grinned.

“Yes…”

Jane shook her head, “That can wait, we have more important things to do. Have you heard from Thessia? Palven? Sur’Kesh? Tuchanka?”

Thea touched Jane’s arm, “Reports are coming in, worlds that were once dark, have made contact. We already have crews going to worlds. The Geth are helping…” she laughed, “you know if you had told me… three years ago that the Geth would be our allies… I guess we should have gotten used to you doing the impossible by now.”

“The shadow broker… has been a big help, moving resources, finding them.” Sparatus told her.

Jane only just kept from turning to Liara, wondering when she got the time.

“What do you need me to do?” Jane asked.

“Heal… we need you to heal…” Anderson told her. “You got us all to work together… we need you to help keep us together.”

Jane nodded, “I guess it is too much to ask for my bed, right? The Normandy is…”

“Is yours…” Thea told her. “Primarch Vakarian, Admiral Zorah, and the rest of the people you call family are still on your ship.”

“Primarch… when did Garrus get that title.” Jane asked with a smile.

“He doesn’t know yet.” Sparatus told her.

Jane grinned, “Man now he is going to be all smug…”

Liara snorted in amusement.

“So… heal… that is all…” Jane asked.

“Diana is still on the Normandy, couple of interviews would help as well. Let the galaxy see you are alive and kicking would be helpful.” Anderson told her, she probably didn’t know just yet but they were getting bombarded with requests about Jane from across the galaxy, did she survive, did the Normandy survive, did they need help searching for them.

When they finally released that Jane and the Normandy had in fact survived and were with the fleet, they then started to get bombarded with demands for proof that Jane and the Normandy were alive and well… or as well as they could be having just come out of a massive battle. A few released pictures of Jane sleeping in the Destiny Ascension med bay, after her medically induced coma not before, and the Normandy flying in formation had calmed people down but they didn’t fully trust it just yet, interviews would help calm people down and at the same time give some entertainment and good news.

“When you are up for it,” Thea told the room. “And only what you are ready to talk about.”

Jane nodded. “Is anything still classified?” she asked just to be sure about what she could and couldn’t talk about.

“No… nothing is classified anymore.” Valern told her. “We are prepared for any backlash for what we’ve done and ready to answer any criticism.”

Jane nodded relieved that she didn’t need to keep anything hidden anymore. “Diana is going to love that… um… some of the people with me were considered criminals…”

“Anderson has already told us of them. We’ve given them all full pardons as well as all of the ex-Cerberus people you managed to convince to help with the war effort.” Thea told her.

“And Edi?” Jane asked.

“Like the Geth, as long as Edi obeys intergalactic law she will be considered as a full member of our society.” Sparatus answered. “We will be working on the anti AI laws, lift restrictions on AI research within reason. Also, protections for AI and what will be considered correct treatment of AI.”

Jane nodded with a small smile. “Thanks, I promised Legion to help his people.”

Thea nodded. “There is a question I would like to ask though before you go.”

Jane waited for their question as the Asari doctor she didn’t know the name of came to remove sensors and the drip in her arm.

“How should we go about building on what you have done?” Thea asked, she had ideas but Jane had forged this war alliance so it was right to give her a say.

“Let every race have a seat on the council but they have to follow intergalactic law.” Jane answered simply.

“Even the Batarians?” Valern asked surprised, Jane’s history with the Batarians was harsh.

“Yes, but regardless, we will help them rebuild, they’ve earned that, if they give up slavery, the aggression against other races, join us… then yes… they should have a seat on the council.” Jane told them.

“And they have to pardon…”

Jane stopped Sparatus, “you cannot force them, cannot give them a condition for joining. They have to make the choice themselves, Batarians are a proud race, that’s almost been destroyed. Don’t force them to think they have to compromise themselves just to get the help they’ve earned.”

Thea nodded surprised that Jane seemed to understand Batarians better than she did, “We already have Geth going to help and the promise that the Batarians won’t do anything to harm them while they do their work.”

Jane nodded and prepared to step down off the table. Liara wrapped an arm around her to steady her body as she finally stood. Thea held out a hand to help but Jane steadied herself. She was wearing a pair of scrubs and slippers, glad for a moment she wasn’t wearing a smock. She took a few unsteady steps but Liara was there, helping. Her right knee only protested a little and it was more stiffness from disuse than injury.

“How long will it take to get a shuttle here to take me back to the Normandy?” Jane asked.

“Shepard Commander,” a mechanical voice said.

“Hi Legionnaire, why are you here?” Jane asked as she turned to him.

“Came to visit,” Legionnaire told her.

“Is the shuttle still here?” Jane asked.

“Yes, Cortez said he would wait.” Legionnaire replied.

“Cool, I am going back to the Normandy,” Jane told him as they slowly made their way out. Jane hugged her still bandaged side as they moved forward slowly.

“Shepard Commander, are you still broken?” Legionnaire asked.

“Organics say hurt Legionnaire,” Jane corrected.

“Hurt…” Legionnaire stated. “Are you still hurt?” he asked.

“Yes, I am still hurt, but not too hurt to still be in the med-bay.” Jane explained. “Organic creatures heal faster in familiar places, places where they feel at ease.”

Legionnaire’s flaps around his eye unit opened and closed which Jane had come to realise was a Geth thing for thinking, considering. “Is that why you are returning to the Normandy, because you are at ease there?”

Jane nodded, “It is also closer for everyone to visit or I can visit them.”

Liara watched the interaction, amazed at her beloved’s adaptability, she handled every race she came across with relative ease, changing how she acted and reacted depending on each race, strength for the Krogan and Batarians, military cool with the Turians, flexibility with the Asari, scientific logic for Salarians. But with each race she showed a friendly side of those traits and here, she seemed indulgent, much like she was with Edi, helping them to learn but not forcing her ideas or ideals upon them.

It took some time but Jane and Legionnaire kept talking and occasionally Liara would add some impute but eventually they made it to the shuttle bay. Aria was leant on the shuttle chatting to Cortez, she pushed off the shuttle, she was still dressed in commando black and not in her normal leather combo.

“Hey Aria.” Jane greeted.

“Seriously,” Aria complained and handed Cortez a couple credits.

Cortez laughed, “Seriously you haven’t learnt, never bet against Shepard.”

“Hey, there is a reason I asked her to help me take back Omega.” Aria told him as she got into the shuttle and then together, they all helped to get Jane into the shuttle. Aria made herself comfortable.

“Um…” Jane said trying to get an explanation.

“I’m on the Normandy, I was offered a room here, but… it’s too… stuffy…” Aria explained.

“Okay,” Jane replied.

“Don’t get your panties in a knot, I’m only with you for another week maybe, a ship is coming to get me to take me back to Omega.” Aria explained. “You guys need Eezo,” she added.

Steve sealed the shuttle and took off.

“You are welcome to stay as long as you need.” Jane told her.

“The couch in the observation deck isn’t too bad, the one in your room is better.” Aria remarked.

Jane grinned and leant into Liara’s body. “I am so looking forward to a shower.” She muttered.

“Yeah… I’ve borrowed your bathroom a couple of times… all the time…” Aria told her.

“Just when I’m not present,” Jane told her, “Liara gets jealous.”

“I do not,” Liara complained.

“Right.” Jane said in an incredulous tone before she rested her head on Liara’s shoulder.

~*~*~*~

Jane woke the next day, she recognised where she was instantly, a blue arm was tossed over her body, Liara was beside her. Her eyes glanced around the familiar things in her room, her fish swam in the water freely having been recently fed by the VI, a chess set sat mid game on a coffee table. Her hamster Boo, was nibbling on a food pallet which Liara had thrown in before going to bed. Carefully she moved Liara’s arm and walked to her bathroom to use the toilet. She didn’t remember much of the last of yesterday, she had been bundled up to her cabin where Karin gave her sedatives to sleep through the night. After taking care of her morning’s needs, she turned on the shower and stripped out of the scrubs she had been dressed in. looking in the mirror she studied herself for a few moments as she carefully took off the bandages wrapped around her body.

With gentle fingers she probed the angry red scar on her side where a piece of shrapnel had struck her. The mirror started to fog over so Jane moved into the water. For long moments she stood in the hot stream before she reached for her shampoo and started to wash her red hair. She heard the door open but didn’t bother to turn, only one person was bold enough… well maybe more than one but only one that mattered.

A few moments later a blue arm wrapped around her, she leant back into the embrace before she turned around and took a few moments to wash the suds from her hair. Jane studied Liara for a while, wondering what she thought about the bruised and scared body before her.

Liara’s eyes scanned over Jane for long moments her gaze turned from concerned to hungry and she let her lustful gaze meet Jane’s. “What is the human saying… I dig scars.” She told Jane.

Jane smiled as she gathered Liara into her arms, “Well… you are one quarter Krogan.” She told her before she captured Liara’s lips in a hungry kiss, the kiss she had wanted to give her the moment she woke and saw her beloved.

Turning them around Jane pressed Liara to the showers wall, Liara gave out a needy moan as she wrapped her left leg around Jane. Jane’s right hand slid over the soft yet muscular thigh her nails gently biting into her flesh. Breaking the kiss so that Jane could suck in a much-needed breath her lips started to trail over Liara’s blue neck.

Liara gasped, already her eyes were black the need to meld, to be one with the one she loved was strong.

“Jane… Shepard… I… need.” Liara panted. 

Jane bit down on the muscle in her neck as she nodded, giving Liara the permission she needed to meld. Liara didn’t even say the customary words she just let her biotics flare as her mind joined Jane’s.

For a moment Liara was over awed by the mind before her. Jane’s mind had always been an interesting place, a powerful one, only now, it seemed so much larger, the wounds caused by Harbinger’s attempt at indoctrination still glowed with the weird golden light.

Jane seemed to let Liara adjust to the differences in her mind before she brought Liara closer to the nearest golden scar and let Liara touch it.

_Jane glanced around at the blank landscape, it reminded her of what the Leviathan had done, back when she met the creators of the Reapers, Harbinger was trying to indoctrinate her._

_“If I must tear you apart, Shepard, I will.” Harbinger told her._

_“I won’t go down without a fight!” Jane told him as she tried to focus, to force her mind back into her body instead of this weird limbo._

_“Why do you resist us, Shepard?” Harbinger asked even as it clawed and chewed at her mind trying to bend it to their will._

_“You want to destroy my world, my people… everything I love.” Jane told him as she felt chained in place._

_“We are your genetic destiny,” Harbinger told her._

_“No… you aren’t… you are a machine… made by organics and you will be destroyed by them.” Shepard fought._

_“You will regret your resistance, Shepard.” Harbinger._

_“I am human, resisting is what we do, we resist the oppressors, we resist that which we believe is wrong… and you… are wrong… organic and synthetic can live together… fight together… exist together.” Jane argued even as she tried to think of a way out of this, how had Benezia fought this._

_“You are arrogant, Shepard, you will learn.”_

_Jane shook her head, “No…” she focused on what she believed had snapped the Matriarch out of indoctrination. Love, love for her daughter. “You are the arrogant ones… after all this time… after all you have seen… all the races you’ve consumed… you still know absolutely nothing.” Jane felt power flow through her, the power of her love and used it to wrench her mind from Harbinger’s grasp._

Liara felt the power that Jane had used to shake free of Harbinger, her stubbornness, love and sheer power of will. It almost sent her reeling from the force of it.

_Sorry,_ Jane told her as she cocooned Liara in the golden glow of her love.

_No… don’t ever be sorry…_ Liara told her, although they desired each other, desired a mating meld, what they really both needed was to just feel each other, reassure themselves that they were together, alive. To just bask in each other. _I love you… your scars… your past… everything._

Jane sighed, _you were the reason I could fight him, could fight the darkness of death that crept up to me. I love you Liara. I always have and always will._

Jane felt a surge of love from Liara even as her love cried. _I’m sorry I forced you to go._

_But you came back,_ Liara told her, the relief behind that statement was almost overwhelming.

“Commander…” a voice said jarring them out of the meld. Jane’s eyes focused on the bruises forming on Liara’s neck from her bites. Usually she wasn’t so… rough with her.

“Commander…” Edi said again.

“Yes Edi.” Jane asked.

“James is making breakfast… he said and I quote… tell Lola to get her arse down here before all the foods gone.” Edi relayed doing a pretty good impersonation of Vega.

“Okay we’ll be down in couple of minutes.” Jane told her as she turned off the water. Leaning in she kissed Liara deeply. _We’ll finish this later,_ she told Liara through the fading meld, heat in her mental voice. Liara shivered as desire coursed through her.

Slowly; reluctantly Jane stepped away from Liara and grabbed a towel even as she gave the Asari maiden a heated lingering look, she briskly rubbed herself down before she put the towel on her head and vigorously rubbed her hair to try to dry it. Liara blushed and reached for a towel as they both walked over to where they kept clothes.

“So, who is in your room?” Jane asked after she tossed the towel onto her bed and then reached for a pair of panties and a sports bra, which she pulled on.

“Miranda and Jack.” Liara told her. “They’ve broken four monitors.”

Jane chuckled, “Always knew there was some undercurrent of lust between those two.” She explained as she grabbed a pair of sweat pants which she pulled on. A black t-shirt went on next and then she grabbed a clean N7 hoodie.

Liara found a set of her underwear amongst Jane’s. “They make… an interesting pairing.”

Jane sat on her bed and glared at the boots which waited for her. So many laces. She grabbed her boots and started the long process of lacing them up even as her body protested at the bent over position.

Liara put on a pair of her pants but she stole a black shirt and hoodie from Jane. Once she was dressed, she grabbed the wet towels and took them to the bathroom to put in the wash with the rest of their clothes. She then grabbed her own boots and pulled them on. She was finished before Jane and waited patiently as Jane worked.

“Remind me to get less complicated boots.” She complained before she stood holding her side, grabbing a comb she followed Liara from their room and to the lift. As the lift move Jane pulled the comb through her hair, regardless her hair looked messy.

The lift opened on the crew deck and they walked around and into the mess. Vega was standing at the stove a large skillet in his hands. Joker was already at the table trying to keep out of everyone’s way as Karin glared at him to make sure he took his medication, Edi stood by James watching him cook as it was something, she found she enjoyed to do.

“Lola take a seat, your foods almost up.” Vega called. Diana was standing a little away, her ever present shadow, a camera drone was filming the activity, wanting to show the… relaxed side of the legendary crew.

Jane took an empty seat; Tali was already eating as Vega had cooked the Dextro food first. Garrus was beside her. Javik was seated a little away from everyone on the stairs leading up to the main gun.

Aria took a seat with a plate of food, she poked it a few times before she just started to eat. Jack sat with a huff near Miranda, Liara put down plates for herself and Jane as Samara put down two large pots of coffee, Wrex and Grunt were eating from large bowls and would probably eat the bowls as well. Zaeed was leant against a wall drinking coffee, his idea of a perfect breakfast. Legionnaire stood a little to the side, watching but still in the thick of things  
“Hey has everyone got a plate?” Vega called as he handed a plate to Ashley. Sam was crammed into spot between Jack and Garrus. Samara took a comfortable seat on top of the counter top to eat.

“Hey Jack,” Jane called even as she prepared a fork full of eggs.

“Yeah…” Jack replied cautiously, wondering if Jane was going to tease her.

“I need you to hook me up.” Jane put down her cutlery and jerked up the left sleeve of her hoodie to show her healed but bare forearm. “I lost some ink.”

“Pft… if that’s what you need, I can do that for you. I just have to see if the tools I hid are still where I put them.” Jack told her.

“Cool,” Jane replied before she started to focus on her food and coffee.

The group bantered and laughed as they ate and then as they cleaned up.

“Hey… Samara… what’s with that?” Jane asked, as she gestured to the armour repair on her left shoulder which looked a lot like her armour, in fact Grunt and Wrex had also attached pieces of her armour to theirs.

Samara glanced to the spot Jane meant, not that she needed to, she turned back to Jane with a serene look. “There… was a hole.” She replied with amusement but completely serious.

Jane watched her for a few moments but decided she didn’t want to go there. “Uh huh… you two going with the same excuse?” Jane asked as she turned to the two Krogan, who glanced to each other and then turned to Jane and nodded. “Right.” She turned to Garrus and Tali, like the others they too had pieces of her armour attached to theirs, in fact many of them had pieces of her armour attached to theirs. “Let me guess… you all had holes… that you just had to patch using my damaged armour?” she asked the room and got silence.

Jane rubbed her forehead, “Whatever, just don’t ask me to sign it.” She told the room and everyone laughed. Jane then turned her attention to Diana. “Getting good footage.”

“I am but I will not release anything you don’t approve.” She walked forward and noticed that space had made for her before Jane so she sat in the chair. Jane fiddled with her cup of coffee, the others fell quiet, giving Diana and Jane relative quiet.

“I would like to ask you some questions about what happened, I understand if you aren’t ready to talk about it just yet.” Diana told her, she actually had a lot of respect for Jane, Jane had defended her right to voice her opinion and let her be here, in the literal thick of things. She was fully aware what she was meant to do having had a formal request come through, she was to show the galaxy that Jane was alive and healing, that the Normandy and its crew were alive and well, how she did that was up to her, she had ideas but didn’t know if there were restrictions as to what she could ask. However, if Jane said no she would respect that and wait until Jane was ready to talk, after all a lot had happened to her.

“I’ll do my best.” Jane told her, thinking it best to just get this over with and doing it here meant she wouldn’t have to tell her friends separately.

“Edi let me see footage of the battle of London, watched as you took down Harbinger.” Diana said trying to get the courage she needed to ask the question.

“You want to know about how Harbinger tried to indoctrinate me, how I threw him off?” Jane offered for her and she nodded.

“No one has been able to correctly prove how indoctrination happened let alone how someone would fight it.” Diana explained. “But I can understand if you don’t want to talk about it just yet.”

“I don’t fully understand how I did it either. I just knew I had to fight it, to fight him and each time I threw him off, it became easier.” Jane paused and felt a hand grip her knee, Liara was beside her and focusing on her coffee but still she gave her silent encouragement. “I tried not to focus on what he was showing me, on his compelling words. Instead I focused on my friends… no… my family,” she corrected as she glanced around the odd collection of people in the room, all of them she considered friends and family. “On all the people who were fighting, dying to buy us time to activate the crucible. On the people I’ve already lost, on those I couldn’t save. But mainly I focused on the ones I loved. It was those thoughts, which helped me to throw him off, to keep his claws out of my mind. It wasn’t easy, it was very hard to do. But I had to.”

“And then after you threw off Harbinger… why was Harbinger so fixated on you?” Diana said changing her question. Having seen actual footage of Harbinger talking to Jane during the fight it made her insanely curious.

“First Sovereign…” Jane explained, “But I guess there is more to it than that. To explain why me you have to understand what the Reapers do… or what they used to do. During each harvest… what the Reapers did every 50 thousand years. They picked one race to make into a new capital class reaper.”

“How do you know this?” Diana asked curious.

“When I was working with Cerberus, investigating the disappearance of human colonies, we went onto a collectors ship… it was a trap… but we managed to learn a lot and get out. Like the collectors were a Reaper husk version of Protheans used to help them select the next race to be harvested and turned into a reaper, it was also their job to begin the process of making the new reaper.” Jane explained. “Then when we went on our suicide mission…”

“Really we have to rename it… no one died and we all made it back.” Tali complained.

“We might not have Tali… that is why it is was called a suicide run.” Jane explained. “The collectors had come and abducted part of the crew. So, we went after them and went through the Omega 4 relay. Edi could probably give you some footage of it, of the fight we had to go through just getting to the collector base.”

“Um… I thought… that it was classified.” Edi replied, in fact many were surprised by the candid answers.

“The council and Alliance have removed all classified restrictions to almost all Normandy missions both on the SRV 1 and SRV 2, except for one, the one I did with Jack and Liara.” Jane explained.

Edi nodded, “I will make all footage and mission reports available… does that also include the Alpha relay incident or is that also excluded.”

Jane nodded. “No… you can give them to Diana… anyway we were talking about why Harbinger wanted me. So, we were in the collector base, trying to figure out why they were liquefying humans, relieved that we managed to rescue our people before it happened to them and got them back to the Normandy. So, we kept going deeper and found why they were taking humans, why they were liquefying them. We came across a partially built human reaper.”

Edi brought up footage of it. Diana flinched when she saw it.

“And that is why Harbinger wanted me, he wanted me to be the mind in charge of the human reaper. Even the Leviathans were curious about me when I met them. See… it is hard to beat a reaper. I managed to thoroughly thwart Sovereign, no once but twice and then rallied everyone to destroy it. I was one person.”

“The Leviathans?” Diana questioned; she knew all about them but hadn’t been given permission to report about it.

“The creators of Harbinger, an AI who was meant to find a solution to the conflict between organic and synthetic life. They were also first race Harbinger harvested when the solution they came up with… was to destroy all life every 50 thousand years… or at least they almost completely harvested the race that created them. Some still live, on a planet covered with oceans, they were also where the Reapers got mind control from. They were just as perplexed by me, one person, able to thwart the reapers, not once, not twice but three times by the time I met them.” Jane explained.

“We’ve gone off track,” Diana remarked surprised.

Jane nodded as she downed the last of her coffee. Garrus refilled her cup for her and she nodded in thanks. “I guess that is to be understandable. We didn’t learn all of this at once, and you’ve been given a free pass to ask questions, each answer, leads to more questions.” Jane shifted stretching her side a little and winced slightly in pain.

“True, but I want to know about the battle of London. After that, when you sent your people off.” Diana said in a leading way.

“Harbinger was done, some of them were hurt, so I called Joker to come and get them. When they were on their way, I started to make my way to the transfer device. Harbinger wasn’t quiet as dead as I hoped him to be, or maybe he just used the last of his energy for one last attack. I managed to dodge it at the last moment but it still sent me flying. That’s when I got hurt,” Jane touched her left side. “I know I wasn’t out for long, got to my feet, a little disorientated, with only a pistol. Three husks and fucking marauder got in my way but I took them both out, with a pistol and then I was in the transfer beam. I don’t remember much, if I passed out, I remember being on the ground, Anderson’s voice, I got to my feet, looked around… I had seen a lot of the citadel, but not where I was.” Jane went quiet as she vividly remembered what she saw. A few tears formed in her eyes before she shook her head and wiped at her left eye removing some tears, took a deep breath and released it. “I was surrounded on both sides by piles of dead human bodies.” She dashed the tears from her right eye. “The harvest for the human reaper.” Jane explained. “I had to walk pass those piles, some were taller than I was. But I had to keep going, had to open the citadel so that we could fire the crucible and put an end to them. But I wasn’t the only one, Anderson had followed me although we ended up in different places. There was only one way to go, so I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, my armour dispensing medi-gel everyone now and again.” She paused to take a mouthful of coffee and felt a comforting three fingered hand on her back and a squeeze from Liara.

“Eventually I made it to a room, Anderson was there, injured and restrained, as was the Illusive Man. He ordered me to stop, it felt like he was trying to use indoctrination, so I played along, trying to figure out what he was doing here. Anyway, after listing to him spout on about how the reapers weren’t the destroyers everyone was making them out to be, that we could control them. I knew there was no reasoning with him, he was indoctrinated and he didn’t even know it. Though I tried, I hoped to snap him out of it, like I managed to do with Seran, like Benezia managed to do. He ordered me to shot Anderson, I refused, eventually I had to shoot him instead, it was a quick. I moved as fast as my sore body would let me and administered a dose of medi-gel to Anderson, he then reminded me of the mission. So, I walked over to the terminal that was there and I hacked it, ordering the citadel to open and then I went and sat next to Anderson. I don’t remember much after that, I think I remember being bundled into a shuttle, Garrus telling me to hold on. The next thing I remember is waking up on the Destiny Ascension four… no five days ago.”

Jane finished deciding not to rehash what she and Anderson had spoken about while they waited, that she had used almost all of her medi-gel just to keep them alive.

Diana nodded, “I think that is all for now, do you mind if I schedule another interview for tomorrow?”

Jane nodded.

“So, skipper, do we have orders?” Ashley asked.

Jane shook her head, “Rest and heal, we’ll be busy soon enough.”

Jack stood, “Hey I’ll meet you in your cabin.” She walked off. Jane nodded and slowly got to her feet.

Karin walked over, “Are you okay Commander?”

“Just my side,” Jane explained as she unzipped her hoodie and lifted her shirt to show her side and the angry red scar there.

Diana’s eyes went wide as her eyes focused on the healing wound and even managed to get some footage of it.

Karin went into the med-bay and returned with a pad coated in medi-gel that she laid on the wound and taped down.

“Nice scar you have there Shepard.” Wrex complimented.

“You’re not my type Wrex and you have Bakara.” Jane told him with a grin, she pulled down her shirt. “But check it,” she pulled up her right sleeve to show off her forearm and the new scars that cut through her tattoo in just the right places.

“Nice.” Wrex complimented.

Karin sighed at the pairs antics, “We might have to keep applying medi-gel for a few more days. No training or strenuous activities until it is healed completely and I give you the okay.” She gave Jane and then Liara a pointed look causing a couple of people to gently chuckle or swallow their laughter.

“Okay.” Jane told her as she zipped up her hoddie.

Karin turned to Diana, “Turn it off,” she told the reporter, Diana didn’t argue. “Let me be clear… no sex…” she pointed at Jane and then Liara. There were some louder chuckles and even barely contained laughter from some in the room, which caused her to cast a glare around the room. “Don’t get me started with the rest of you,” she warned.

“No sex,” Liara told her trying and failing to keep the blush from spreading.

Jane nodded to Karin and then went to go back to her cabin to rest. No sooner had she gotten comfortable on her couch did Aria and Jack walk in. Liara was working on a terminal at Jane’s desk. Aria made herself comfortable, even putting her feet on the coffee table and toppling a few chess pieces in the process.

“Hey Aria, to what do I owe the visit.” Jane asked as she took off her hoodie.

“Bored, and to be honest, Samara still kind of freaks me out.” Aria told her.

Jack set up her equipment then carefully spaced out the design so that it would take up a decent amount of space. “While I am here do, I need to go over any of your other tatts?”

Jane showed Jack her right forearm and Aria snorted in amusement after she read it, she hadn’t noticed the tattoo before, understandable, when they took back Omega, she was wearing armour and in Purgatory it had been easy to miss as the club wasn’t brightly lit. “You salute with that arm, right?”

Jane nodded, “Should have seen the twitches when I handed myself into the alliance and saluted for the first time, I was in work blues.”

Jack laughed. “How did your N7 tattoo heal?” she asked and Jane pulled her shirt all the way up to show her N7 tattoo over her heart with her ID number under it, it was a different number than her service ID number as it was specific to those who reached N7 ranking. She had lost it when Cerberus had brought her back to life.

“Pretty good I think.” Jane pulled her shirt back down.

Jack nodded, “well let’s get started.” She told Jane.


	3. Chapter 3 - The start of healing

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 3 ~ The start of healing

_“You escaped us before, Shepard, not again.” Harbinger told her. “Embrace perfection.”_

_Jane laughed, “What are you talking about I am perfect.”_

_“You are vermin,” Harbinger told her._

_“Really… then why do you want me… why am I the one you need to be the human reaper.” Jane taunted. “Do you even know why you are fixated on me.”_

_Harbinger started to show her images of her dead friends, “Your death is assured.”_

_Again, Jane laughed, “Do you know how many times I have died? Heck… the collectors killed me… all it did was piss me off. You think you can control me… kill me… this isn’t real.”_

_“Your allies have fallen… you have no one left… and now you stand alone, Shepard.”_

Jane jerked awake and panted gently, the healing wound in her side pulled painfully. Liara was beside her, sleeping somewhat peacefully. It took her a few moments to calm down, remind herself that Harbinger was dead, the reaper war, as it was being called, was over.

As if sensing her bed partner was awake again, “Jane,” Liara said as she tugged Jane back down to sleep. “You won’t heal if you don’t sleep.” She told Jane gently.

“Sorry,” Jane told her, it was like the third time she had jerked awake tonight.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Liara asked.

Jane considered Liara for a moment, she didn’t want to burden her love with this, at least not while she was still wrapping her mind around it. “Not yet.” She told Liara honestly, eventually she would share it all with the love of her life but only when she had come to terms with it first.

Liara watched Jane’s eyes for a few moments. “Do you want me to go get you a sedative?” she asked.

“No…”

“It’s okay to get help Jane, after everything you’ve been through, no one will think it strange that you need help to deal with what happened to you.” Liara told her gently as she gently stroked some hair away.

Jane pulled Liara close and simply kissed her forehead. “For now, … I still need to wrap my head around it, if it becomes too much… I’ll get help.”

“Seriously… shut up you two,” Aria complained from Jane’s couch.

“Why are you on my couch?” Jane asked.

“Because I was pretty sure I would be able to get some sleep, the cot I was offered… is uncomfortable.” Aria told them.

Jane felt Liara touch her mind, _she sleeps there, she was there last night as well._

_I read that it is common for Asari to sleep together._ Jane told her, talking about communal sleeping, Asari were a very communal species more so amongst family and close friends.

_It is…_ Liara said but there was a possessive edge to it.

_Sleep only… I am a one Asari only kind of person, besides… we both know Aria is with Thea._ Jane told her.

_Fine,_ Liara pulled away and together they shuffled over to make room. “Get over here,” she told Aria even as she tightened her grip on Jane.

“Feel like sharing Shepard?” Aria teased.

“Sleep only Aria, the bed is more comfortable then the couch,” Jane told her already feeling sleep take her again. Aria got up from the couch and slid in beside Jane.

“Wrong side Aria,” Liara told her.

“Shut up and move over.” Aria told the pair and moved over to make room.

“Do anything stupid and I will warp your face.” Liara warned and Aria grinned.

“That sounds like a challenge.”

“Trying to sleep here,” Jane complained.

~*~*~*~

Jane felt someone shake her, she had managed to sleep through the rest of the night without being woken by nightmares. She woke with a groan and turned to the person shaking her, it was Aria. “What?” Jane told her.

“Vega will be ordering you down for breakfast in about 45 minutes.” Aria told her before she left.

Liara had woken when Jane did, she stretched. “Wow… the Queen of Omega can actually be nice.”

“Yeah but… we won’t tell anyone that…” Jane told her as she got up.

“Yeah… she’ll send assassins if we ruin her image.” Liara agreed as they both went to the bathroom. Half an hour later they were down in the mess, again Diana was filming the room. Karin walked over, frowning at the fact that Jane was in workout clothes.

“I just thought some Asari yoga with Samara would help,” Jane told her.

“Show me.” Karin told her.

Jane lifted her shirt; she had removed the medi-gel soaked pad when she showered this morning. Karin prodded the wound and hummed, it looked much better today than yesterday.

“Yoga only.” She told Jane before she went to get another medi-gel pad, Jane waited for her. Karin stuck down the pad, then she turned her attention to Joker. “Jeff have you taken your medication?”

Jane pulled her shirt down and then walked over to James who was working on breakfast. “Five minutes… get lost.” James told her.

Jane walked over to Samara, “Is it okay if I join you in your stretching?” she asked.

Samara nodded. “Of course.”

“Do you know how much longer you will be with us?” Jane asked.

“I am not sure either, I am concerned about my daughter, alone at the monastery…” Samara started to say.

“Justicar Samara,” Legionnaire interrupted. “I have sent a small group of Geth to the monastery to help rebuild. They were going to join the group I sent to Thessia but I overheard your communication with your daughter and redirected them.” Legionnaire explained. “Forgive me if I was rude.” He added.

“No… thank you for your consideration Legionnaire.” Samara told him with a smile. “I will go and warn her.” She walked off.

“Are you helping to direct your people from here?” Jane asked.

Legionnaire watched her for a moment before he nodded, “Yes… there is so much need, we lost some during the fighting… but we…”

“Wait… you lost members… I thought an order for you to evacuate to faraday cages was sent out.” Jane said concerned, the crucible targeted anything with Reaper technology in it and the Geth had reaper code, it was why Jane had made the Geth make faraday cages, to protect them from destruction.

“It did, however… some chose to ignore the order, to keep fighting, to protect the Normandy as it went in to get you, then to protect the retreat.” Legionnaire told her.

“Why?” Jane asked saddened, the Geth had such strong bonds to each other, losing one… was a big deal for them.

Legionnaire considered Jane for several moments, “They chose to… because…” his flaps opened, “they had the ability to choose… given the right to choose…” Edi touched Legionnaire.

“Because there are things worth dying for.” Edi supplied as she knew Legionnaire was struggling to explain.

Legionnaire considered what she said for several moments. “Yes… there are things worth ceasing to exist… to die for.” He corrected himself.

Jane nodded, “We will remember them. Did they have… no… they wouldn’t have had time to gain names…”

“The Geth will remember, their memories are a part of us,” Legionnaire told her.

Jane shook her head, “No Legionnaire, we will all remember, you lost your brothers and sisters, like everyone who died fighting, their sacrifice can never be forgotten.”

Legionnaire considered her for several moments. “Is that why Legion’s name is on the wall? So that he can be remembered?”

Jane nodded, “it’s called a Memorial, where we put our fallen comrades so that they can never be forgotten, where we can honour them.”

“Shepard Commander, you have given me much to think about.” Legionnaire said before he walked off.

“Foods up!” James called.

Jane went to join the line and noticed the camera drone move back to Diana, she wondered what the woman had recorded this time.

~*~*~*~*~

The next day Karin cleared Jane for some light sparring, although she had cleared her, she still sat on a crate with a medical kit waiting. Diana was nearby, her drone hovered, like she would miss a chance to film sparring between anyone on this ship.

Jane and James were already at work, James’s style was more akin to a boxer, while Jane’s was more like a mixed martial artist. Everyone stood or sat around throwing out good humoured banter and teasing, more so whenever Jane landed James on his arse.

“Alright I give,” James said as he got to his feet after the third down.

Jane bounced on the balls of her feet in a relaxed stance, “Who’s next?” Jane asked the room. None of the humans in the room met her eyes. “Garrus?”

“Ah… no… we both know you’ll win,” he told her.

Jane didn’t bother to ask Tali, sparring wasn’t her strength, her eyes scanned the rest of the room. Wrex and Grunt had already declined fighting Jane, choosing to do so when she was back to full health. Aria got to her feet, she pointed at Diana. “Turn it off and put it in a crate.”

Diana did exactly what she was told to, not even thinking to argue with the queen of Omega.

“No biotics…” Jane told her, “and no cheating.”

Aria just gave her a bored look as she took off her leather jacket and hung it on a crate. “Yeah yeah take the fun out of it.”

“I believe it is more to do with the fact that if you two really sparred using biotics… the ship would be damaged.” Edi told her.

Aria nodded, made sense, between the two of them they could put a pretty decent hole in the ship.

It took a few moments but Jane and Aria found a rhythm that suited them as they stated to spar. There was a lot less taunting and banter from those watching, they were way more focused on the fight as Jane and Aria tried to make the other lose. After ten minutes of sparring Samara stepped between them before they got too engrossed and started to use Biotics.

“Shall we call this a draw?” she asked the pair and both Jane and Aria nodded.

“You totally would have lost if biotics were on the table.” Aria told her.

“Maybe…” Jane remarked and smiled when she realised Samara wasn’t leaving. “You want to spar?”

“Yes… Diana can film this one if she wants.” Samara told her.

Diana moved at almost light speed to get her camera drone out of the crate and filming again.

Jane and Samara started to circle, if the quiet during Aria and Jane’s fight was deep it was nothing compared to the dead silence that filled the room. Jane threw out an experimental hit which Samara blocked and then countered.

For long minutes they traded blows and kicks neither getting the upper hand on the other. After ten minutes of good sparring Samara stepped back and gave Jane a slight smile. “A draw?”

“Yes,” Jane said gently panting. She had expected the Justicar to thoroughly beat her with all her centuries of experience but without biotics they seemed to be really evenly matched.

“Okay enough…” Karin told the room, “At least for Jane… I said light sparring.” She made a come motion to Jane to check her side. Jane walked over willingly as others took up the sparring space.

Karin lifted the shirt and checked her side; the sparring hadn’t torn open the scar tissue and she had to admit Asari yoga was helping to stretch the scar safely. Regardless she placed another pad soaked in medi-gel over the healing scar.

“I might be able to do something about your new scars, lessen them,” Karin told her.

Jane shook her head, “If I came out of everything that happened without scars… it wouldn’t feel real to me… besides… Liara digs scars.” She said with a slight smile even as Liara turned and glared at Jane.

Wrex laughed as he clapped Liara on the back almost sending her from her seat, “She is one quarter Krogan of course she likes scars.”

“I will head butt you,” Liara threatened and then groaned as she remembered what her father had said about headbutting.

“Now I get to go and deal with the mountain of emails sitting in my inbox.” Jane said as she grabbed a sports towel and used it to wipe the sweat from her body as she walked off. Liara had promised she would help and she was wondering how that was going to happen.

~*~*~*~*~

Diana walked into Jane’s cabin a few hours after the sparring session, Jane was busy going over the slew of emails that clogged her inbox. An information drone, a copy of Glyph, hovered beside her sorting her mail into fan mail, personal mail and mail she actually had to action immediately.

“Diana you wanted to see me?” Jane asked as she put her pad down.

“Yes, I have six segments I need approved before I send them off.” She told Jane.

“Six?” Jane questioned, that seemed like a lot for a couple of days.

Diana nodded and used her omni-tool to transfer the segments to Jane. “Some segments are longer than others.” She explained.

Jane read the titles.

Breakfast on the Normandy; the galaxy’s heroes sharing a meal.

In her own words; Commander Shepard tells us how the war ended.

The last of his Kind; Javik tells his people’s story, what could have happened to us.

Getting better each day; Commander Shepard spars with team mates.

The Geth’s sacrifice; Legionnaire tries to explain why some Geth decided to die to protect us.

The Alpha relay; the truth behind the incident.

“Give me a couple of hours to look these over and I’ll let you know.” Jane told her.

Diana nodded as she went to leave, “Um… could I do a segment on the Normandy, a ship’s tour so to speak, talk to some of the crew, get some stories?” she asked.

Jane nodded, “Stay out of the XO’s quarters though.” She warned and Diana pouted a little but bounced back.

“Okay. Thanks.” Diana told her as she walked off.

Jane quickly sent a ship wide memo letting everyone know that Diana was doing a ships tour and getting profiles and stories from the crew, to accommodate her as much as they wanted to.

Picking up her pad she quickly finished the report Hackett wanted about the end of the war and gave him a warning that she had told a version to Diana to be released to the galaxy, she attached a copy of the segment, then sent it off.

She then focused on the segments and started at the top.

Two hours later Jane finished, she had no issues with any of the segments, Diana had a habit of reporting exactly what she saw and that showed. The footage Edi supplied helped the story telling in some instances.

She sent an email to Diana giving her permission to release them, then with a sigh she turned to the pile of emails, alarmed that it had grown even more expansive.

“Commander, Aria would like to see you in the vid-com room.” Traynor said over the intercom.

Jane gratefully put aside the emails and raced to the vid-com room.

Aria stood before the hologram, arms folded, with a look that promised a very painful bloody death. “Tell them.” Aria told Jane.

“What?” Jane glanced to see a Batarian in blue suns armour. “Rough guess then… We have resources being sent to your home world to help rebuild, they are already on their way, the council are working with your leaders to help your people. Geth have volunteered to help rebuild your homes and infrastructure for now. You should also be getting a notification that if the Batarians chose to obey galactic law you will be welcomed back to the council and have a seat on the council. Regardless of what you choose, we will help you rebuild, you fought with us, that deserves our help… if you wish to accept it.”

Jane told him honestly, “Your highest military leader, Ka’hairal Balak, should have informed you.” She added, “You can verify all this with him.”

“Release the refugees you have or prepare to have me hunt you down.” Aria warned.

The Batarian nodded, “Done, sorry Aria.”

“I told the council that we would hold off on our usual business practises for at least 1 year, let everyone rebuild then back to business as usual. Understood…” Aria told her. “The council promised to help in the terminus systems, give resources and manpower to help rebuild then back off. They won’t do that if you lot are being idiots. You think I’ve been sitting around doing nothing…”

“No Aria,” the man told her.

“Tell the others, if they step out line… I will go after them and they won’t live long enough to regret breaking Omega’s only rule.” She turned to Jane. “You can go.” She told her.

Jane just nodded and left.

~*~*~*~*~

“So, talk about an embarrassing introduction to your new commanding officer.” Joker told Diana as Jane walked into the cockpit an hour after her chat with Aria’s people. “Hey Commander, I was just telling Diana of our first conversation after you took command.”

Jane nodded although she didn’t smile at the fond memory. “Are you done?” she asked and Diana nodded. “Edi can you fly the ship for a bit, I need to talk with Joker.”

The silence that met her was almost deafening.

“Of course, Commander…” Edi started to say.

“Actually… Michaels!” Jane yelled and a young woman ran forward. Joker was going to need the comfort of his girlfriend.

“Commander.” The woman said as she came to a stop.

“Take the controls for a while.” Jane told her.

“Aye Commander.” She waited for Joker to get out of his beloved leather chair and even offered him a hand to get out.

“Edi… Joker… with me please.” Jane said as she walked away and was followed at a slower pace by the pair.

Michaels watched them leave with a sad look. “Damn, she’s always hated doing those, but I guess… she’ll have to do many more in the future.”

“Do what?” Diana asked.

“Family death notification, we all know we are going to get one, eventually. Doesn’t make it any easier on the Commander, she insists on doing every notification herself.” Michaels explained before she turned the chair around to fly the ship.

Diana felt a little conflicted about what she was about to do, to intrude upon a very private moment, but she wanted to show the world no… the galaxy… this crew… who she knew would one day be remembered as Legends as they truly were. People… just like them, they laughed, they argued and they grieved. All she could do, is make the segment, give it to the Commander and let her decide what to do with it.

She found Joker and the Commander in the mess, their friends were gathered around, offering silent comfort. It seems like she had missed the main part, of telling him he had lost family.

“Do you know…” Joker started to ask then stopped himself.

“I do… or at least… I know a little… and… I am sorry that I didn’t put it together sooner. I overheard snippets of conversations between a councillor and an Asari Commando during my visits to Huerta Memorial. But I didn’t put it together until I got your notice.” Jane explained in a truly contrite tone.

Joker watched her for a moment, weighing up if he wanted to know what happened, Edi wrapped an arm around him and gave him a gentle squeeze. He took a deep breath and nodded to Jane, wanting to hear what she knew.

“The commandos were trying to keep farmers safe, they had been on deployment for a while, so they stopped at your parents’ house. One stayed with your family as the others went off. Your sister offered them the use of a shower, they accepted.” Jane told him.

“Sounds like something she would do.” Joker remarked.

“The Commandos were led by an Asari who had Ardat-Yakshi traits but wasn’t actually one of them, she however chose to be celibate, probably would have become a Justicar. Don’t know how she became indoctrinated but she did.” Jane explained. “I don’t know what happened to your parents, I only know part of what happened to your sister. The commando taking a shower walked out to see her team leader, they looked off and then they started to scream.” Jane paused. “The commando from the shower grabbed your sister and ran. For days they hid from husks and Reaper forces, your sister even killed a couple of husks… with a stick.”

There was some good-humoured laughter, some of it even from Joker.

“Damn… the kid sounds more Krogan than Human… are you sure she is your kid sister and not mine?” Wrex asked him.

“Of course, she was my sister, she wasn’t ugly.” Joker quipped back which caused Wrex to laugh.

“They didn’t know there were survivors, so no shuttle came to get them. The commando was running around in only a towel, they wanted to get some clothes and maybe a gun. They went back to the homestead, farmers… were in cages… a trap… they fell for it. Husks and Banshees were on them. They were forced to run and during that your sister broke her leg. Kept going though.”

“Yeah… she had Vrolik syndrome too.” Joker explained.

“She… couldn’t save your sister, as much as she wished she could. She had to decide, one of them had to survive, to get the knowledge they had gained to those who could use it, or neither of them would.” Jane finished, Joker watched her for a few moments, searching her eyes, reading the unsaid words and understood what Jane had not said, the choice the commando made.

“At least she wasn’t in pain anymore.” Joker remarked trying to see the silver lining.

“What was you sister’s name?” Javik asked somewhat untactfully but they were used to the Ancient Protheans abrupt nature.

“Hillary… her name was Hillary.” Joker replied.

Javik nodded, “I will make a plaque for her, for the wall of remembrance, such bravery… deserves to be remembered.” He told Joker, it was remarkably kind, at least for him. All Javik had known was war, he was born during the harvest of his race, and the war had not been going his people’s way. For a moment Jane wondered if Javik would carry out his resolve to end his life now that the Reapers were gone, she resolved herself to talk to her abrasive teammate.

“Remember to put Urdnot before her name, there is no way she is related to that pyjack.” Wrex told him and got a small laugh from Joker.

Edi hugged Joker as he watched Javik walk away.

“Take your time, if you want some private space, let me know and I’ll clear out a room.” Jane told him as she placed a hand on his back.

“Thanks… for…” Joker told her as he stood.

Jane nodded. “Don’t mention it.” She said as she stood, she gathered him up in her arms and gave him a hug. She glanced over Joker to Edi. “Take care of him for me Edi.”

Edi nodded as Jane released him, Edi walked them off, Joker doing his best to be strong at least until they were alone, Jane ran her hand through her hair and sighed, she really hated having to do those but she also knew she would do a lot more in the months to come.

~*~*~*~*~

Diana sat near Jane having just finished another interview segment two days later. “Thank you, Commander.”

“How have the segments you’ve already released been received?” Jane asked curious.

Diana smiled, “Well, they are the most viewed at the moment. People seem to like the small moment segments, you guys at breakfast, sparring, you telling how the war ended.” She hesitated for a moment, “I have more segments to be approved,” she told Jane before she transferred the segments to Jane.

A ships tour; meet the people of the Normandy part 1

A ships tour; meet the people of the Normandy part 2

A ships tour; meet the people of the Normandy part 3

A ships tour; meet the people of the Normandy part 4

Did she or didn’t she; a weird game played on the Normandy.

Killed in Action; what really happened to Commander Shepard when the SRV 1 was destroyed.

The infamous Suicide mission; the fall of the Collectors.

The lost; Grieving on board the Normandy.

Jane hesitated on the last one, “is this about Joker getting his death notification?” she asked as that was the only one, she had done recently.

Diana nodded, “I understand if you want to shelve that one.”

Jane leant back in her chair, “Can I ask why? Why you felt the need to record that?” she was slightly angry at Diana and herself for that matter for not noticing her. For the moment she decided to hold her anger, depending on Diana’s reason for intruding.

Diana nodded, “I guess that makes sense…” she paused, “you guys… are going to be remembered as legends, larger than life.” She explained. “Don’t get me wrong…” she corrected, “it is more than well deserved,” Diana told her honestly, “But you are people too… I wanted to show the people, not just the legends.”

Jane considered her and sighed, “I can’t approve this one, only Joker and the Asari commando can. This is a deeply personal matter for both of them.”

Diana nodded, her respect for Jane climbing higher.

“I will present this to them, if they both approve, then yes you will be able to release it.” Jane explained. Her eyes then fell on another title segment. “Did she, or didn’t she?”

Diana chuckled, “You know you evacuated a bunch of soldiers and militia from earth when you picked up your team. Anyway, they were in the mess and your guys came up from sparring, I thought the segment was going to be something along the lines of meeting their heroes, instead they wanted to know if all the tall stories they had heard were true or not. So Garrus came up with this game where he would say something that you had done, they had to decide if you had or hadn’t and then they would tell them the full story.” She smiled, “It was hilarious to watch, some of those stores sounded completely fake, more so when they started to add their own, like… when you had a gun fight, fell through a glass floor, several stories and then fought your way through bad guys, with only a pistol, in a dress and in heels.”

Jane groaned; she was going to catch crap for that for years.

“Liara answered that one, she said and you can watch it, Jane looked hot in that dress.” Diana answered which caused Jane to laugh, “Which reminds me, I would love to get you and Liara together and talk about how you two fell in love.”

“I’ll talk to her about it but Liara is… for the most part… a very private person.” Jane explained.

Diana nodded and stood. “Thank you for your time.”

~*~*~*~

Jane stood just out of sight in the vid com room a day later. Liara stood at ease as she waited for the call to go through. They already had Joker’s permission for the segment to go out, when told it wouldn’t be released without the Commando’s permission and that they were going to try to contact her he had written a letter to be presented to the woman if she still lived.

Jane had been hesitant when he presented the letter to give to the Commando until he told her to read it. After reading the letter Jane nodded and gave him a big hug and then together, they had gone to the memorial wall to watch as Javik placed Hillary’s name on the wall. Wrex pushed him aside and using a claw scratched Urdnot before her name, they had then gone off to drink in the observation deck, letting Joker tell stories about his sister’s antics.

Thea Tevos’s hologram shimmered into focus and she frowned, “Liara… the Commander requested this, where is she?”

“Out of sight out of consideration,” Liara explained delicately.

Thea sighed, “I see, so you asked me to find out if Aeian T’Goni had survived.”

“Yes,” Jane called but still remained just out of sight.

“I found her, she was on the Destiny Ascension, she was evacuated to it when the citadel was taken. She is here with me,” Thea turned to someone out of the field of view. Another younger Asari joined her and Thea wrapped a comforting arm around her, she was already fully aware of what this call was about. “Commander Shepard would like to speak with you, but is aware that humans make you uncomfortable, she is willing to let Liara T’Soni talk for her.”

The other Asari was visibly nervous, “I’ll try,” she told them all, Commander Shepard, first human Spectre, savour of the galaxy wanted to speak with her. Could she refuse the honour… the answer was no.

Jane cautiously walked into the room and although the Asari beside Thea flinched she didn’t completely freak out. “I am aware this is making you uncomfortable and I am sorry for adding to your distress,” Jane told her as gently as she could.

“How… why…” Aeian asked only just managing to control herself, to the best of her knowledge she had never met the Commander before. How could she know that her very presence was going to cause her distress?

“You probably didn’t notice me, I was in and out of Huerta Memorial, and please forgive me… but I overheard you with your councillor, explaining what happened at Tiptree.” Jane told her and the woman took a step back.

“Perhaps, watching will help.” Thea told her as she brought up the segment Jane had sent her; she also had the letter but hadn’t looked at it since it wasn’t addressed to her. She watched the entire segment including the added part of Hillary’s name being added to the Normandy’s memorial wall.

“This segment hasn’t been released and will not be released without your permission.” Jane told her firmly, although her name had never been mentioned someone would be able to eventually trace it back to her. She then nodded to Thea. “Joker… Jeff wrote a letter to you, please read it before making a decision.”

Thea transferred the letter to Aeian’s omni-tool and they waited silently as she read.

“He… doesn’t blame me…” Aeian asked in disbelief when she finished reading, tears in her eyes, she had been ready for angry words, hateful words for what she had done, not his understanding and forgiveness.

Jane shook her head, “No… he was sad yes, and although I never actually said it… he knows what… war forced you to do. He doesn’t blame you and if you want, I am sure he would accept letters when you are ready.”

“I still did it though.” Aeian remarked angry at herself, that she couldn’t save that kind young woman.

Jane nodded, “I understand…”

“Do you!” the woman exclaimed in disbelief, no one knew what was going through her head, what she had been forced to do.

Jane sighed for a moment before she took a deep breath, “Over three hundred thousand Batarians died because I wasn’t fast enough to save them, because I flew an asteroid into the Alpha relay and destroyed it. I tried to warn them, to save them, but I was too late and I failed them.” She paused for a moment, “The Shenyang, Emden, Jakarta, Cairo, Seoul, Cape Town, Warsaw, Madrid and twenty Turian cruisers destroyed because I chose to protect the Destiny Ascension during our fight against Sovereign. I’ll remember them all and I will have to live with those deaths for the rest of my life.” She told Aeian honestly, letting her emotions show. Liara wrapped an arm around Jane and leant in to press her forehead against Jane’s temple.

“Do I blame myself… yes… am I responsible… no… the Reapers, they are responsible. They forced my hand, just like they forced yours.” Jane finished before she wiped her tears away with her left hand.

Aeian considered Jane for long moments, “I need to think.” She turned and left; Jane just nodded.

“That went better than I hoped,” Liara told her.

Jane shrugged, she just suddenly felt really tired and wanted to go and hide in her cabin.

“Ah… Commander… Jane…” Thea corrected as she typed for a few moments.

Jane’s omni-tool buzzed and she checked what the Asari Councillor had sent her. It was contact information only it wasn’t hers. She turned inquisitive eyes to the Councillor.

“The contact information for the Therapist I use… for when… you are ready.” Thea explained a little bashfully.

Jane didn’t know what to say.

Thea took a deep breath, “I wrestle with the guilt of holding back information from you, of the lives that could have been saved if I had just… ignored the Matriarchs and did what I knew to be right. But it’s been easier since I started talking to them.”

Jane nodded in understanding, “Thank you.”

Thea shook her head, “No Jane… thank you… if you hadn’t saved us all… I wouldn’t be here to feel guilt and angry at the Matriarchs. Pity so many of them who wanted to keep the active beacon quiet… died… they deserve to answer for the lives they threw away.”

Jane shrugged, “doesn’t matter now does it. What matters now is that we learn from the mistakes and move forward.”

Thea nodded.

“Aria is still aboard; would you like us to get her for you.” Liara asked.

Thea smiled, “Please.”

~*~

Liara finished her work a few hours later and went to find the woman she wanted to spend the rest of their life with. “Edi, do you know where Shepard is?” Liara asked.

“The Commander is in her quarters.” Edi answered.

“Thanks,” Liara got into the lift and went up to the Captains quarters. She walked in and frowned as she noticed a new addition to the room. All of their blankets were arranged in a weird way. Being the inquisitive person, she was she went up to it and opened a flap to find Jane, cocooned in spare blankets and circled up in a ball with a blanket partially covering her face.

Liara had to think for a few minutes about what to do, she had a pretty decent amount of knowledge about humans but had no knowledge about this. Stepping back, she did a quick couple of intranet searches and found that the structure was called a blanket fort, kids would make them for a couple of reasons but Liara was pretty sure the reason there was a blanket fort in their room was because Jane wanted comfort. Taking off her boots she crawled into the fort and over to Jane. It took a few moments and a biotic lift but she managed to un-cocoon her and then she cuddled up to Jane, hugging her from behind and found that the pillows, cushions and blankets made a pretty comfortable resting place and felt herself fall asleep. Sometime later Aria crawled into the fort and cuddled up to the pair. Liara woke slightly so Aria touched her initiating a very shallow meld so as not to wake the sleeping human.

_Is this some weird human fetish?_ Aria asked, humour lacing her mental tone.

She felt a mental shake of the head, _it’s called a blanket fort… A coping mechanism. She had a rough day emotionally._ Liara explained.

Aria sighed; _Thea told me._ Gently she stroked some red hair from Jane’s face.

Liara felt the undercurrent of love when Aria thought about the Asari Councillor so she didn’t get jealous from Aria’s actions.

_You really care about her…_ Liara remarked.

_Thea or Jane?_ Aria questioned back and was just as surprised as Liara was at how comfortable this blanket fort was.

_Both… I know you love Thea and care about her… you also care about Jane._ Liara told her.

There was mental silence between them as Aria considered how to answer her. _I… she is… my friend. I have few of those and she’s not just a friend… she is a true friend. I am sure that even if I hadn’t been able to help with the war… she would have helped me to take back Omega. But at the same time, she accepted my help, the Queen of Omega, the Queen of the largest criminal organisation and trusted me to watch her back while we fought in the streets of Omega. And I learnt quickly that I could trust her to watch mine. She is a very honest person, has a moral compass that is often at odds with mine, but she wasn’t a complete dick about._

_Is that why you kissed her?_ Liara asked, a trickle of jealousy followed though the meld.

_Maybe another time Shadow Broker… also… get your people off my base, I will kill them if I find them._ Aria warned her.

_How…_ Liara started to ask.

_Have you ever gotten Jane drunk before?_ Aria asked. _Mind you… in a way… if it wasn’t for you and Shepard… Thea and I might not have gotten together._ She added before she slipped out of Liara’s mind and drifted to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4 ~ 1 year later

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 4 ~ One year later

Jane sat on a stage that was sat on a grassed area on Thessia, the Citadel was not yet ready for people although she was sure that by next year the Citadel would again be the hub of galactic politics. The keepers, who had somehow survived, were working so fast, leading some to believe that this wasn’t the first time the citadel had been badly damaged during a harvest. She was dressed in full dress whites; a cap was tucked under her left arm; as this was a formal event so many were dressed in uniform. Her friends were also nearby, mingling around as they waited.

She had to do a double take when she saw Jack dressed in dress whites. She was fully aware the ex-criminal had been given a field commission and the rank of Lieutenant during the war, both of which had been rolled over after the end of the war. Jack was now a dependable Alliance Marine, dog tags and all, although hers were tattooed as well as hung around her neck. But seeing it, the tatted woman with a haircut that didn’t fit military regulations but was tolerated because she was such an asset, in dress whites, if told this was possible when she first met Jack, she would not have believed it.

Miranda was beside her girlfriend and also in dress whites, like Jack, during the war, she had been given a field commission and the rank of Lieutenant and like Jack they had been rolled over after the end of the war. Although, Miranda had managed to advance her rank to Lieutenant Commander since joining.

Jane’s eyes scanned over the stage, seeing everyone together again in one place made her smile, although she wished Mordin, Thane, Legion, Presley and Kaiden were still here, but at the same time she was glad that empty chairs were on the stage to represent everyone who had fought with them and hadn’t made it.

Garrus was a little further down, in his seat beside Tali whose hand he lifted to his lips to kiss. Tali was dressed in her best enviro-suit and Garrus was in a formal Turian suit. Zaeed was stretched out in a seat near them, it was odd to see him in anything other than armour but the suit made the old merc look dashing. Samara was seated behind him and as always, she was in her red armour.

Edi was supporting Joker as he shuffled forward to greet the Asari Commando he had been exchanging letters with since Jane had introduced them. Edi no longer looked quite so mechanical with synthetic skin making her look… more organic until you got to her eyes, they were clearly synthetic. She also let her hair be individual strains and had styled it back.

Liara leant over and kissed Jane’s cheek, trying and failing to ignore all the cameras focused on them.

“Edi looks good in dress whites.” Jane told her, shortly after Jane was released from med-bay she had jokingly filled out paperwork to get her officially put on the crew, not expecting Hackett to take it so seriously. Two days later she was presenting Edi Normandy with lieutenant bars, dog tags and identification papers.

Liara chuckled as she remembered the first time Edi had excitedly put on work blues with her shiny new tags and bars.

Jane checked her omni tool for the time, they still had ten minutes before the event was meant to happen so she stood and walked over to chat with her friends. Ashley and James were standing together, she hadn’t really had time to relax with either of them since need had split them up, just emails and holo calls but since the holo calls tended to be James or Jane challenging the other to a push up, pull up or crunch competition it didn’t really count. Ashley had her own spectre work to do and James refused to leave her which she could sympathise with.

Jane hugged both being careful not to crease their uniforms.

“Hey Lola,” James greeted, he was dressed finely in his white uniform with some medal ribbons from previous acts already on his chest.

“Vega, good to see you are well.” Jane replied.

Legionnaire walked over to join them, Jane turned and gave the Geth Prime a hug which he returned.

Others came over to greet Jane and just as they started to catch up there was a throat being cleared and assistants were trying to get them into their seats. Jane turned and flinched a little as she noticed Matriarch Aethyta talking with her daughter.

Jack chuckled, “Still haven’t asked?” she asked in a teasing tone.

“Shut up you,” Jane said with a gentle hip check. Miranda grabbed her girlfriend and pulled her away from Jane before they devolved into a fight.

“Matriarch Aethyta,” Jane greeted after she walked over to join them.

“Shepard,” Aethyta replied in her slightly rough voice.

“I believe we are being directed to take our seats,” Liara told them both.

“Yeah, yeah,” Aethyta walked off, she moved to join other diplomats sitting on the stage.

Liara leant in to whisper into Jane’s ear when her father was far enough away, “You really need to get over your complex when it comes to my father. She won’t bite.”

Jane turned to Liara and gave her a disbelieving look.

“Okay she might bite…” Liara corrected, although headbutt was probably more what her father would do but she couldn’t discount biting either.

Again, a throat was cleared interrupting them and forcing them to their seats.

Javik sat behind them, Jane had managed to talk him out of ending his life, to live in a world without the Reapers for his people who didn’t get this chance. He was living on Thessia, trying to figure out what he was going to do with his life. “Is this really necessary?” he complained.

Jane turned to him, “I would rather not be here either, but… this isn’t about us…”

“I am pretty sure it is,” Javik argued.

Jane shook her head, “No it isn’t… it is about healing. Yes, we might be getting medals… but this is essentially a chance for the galaxy to heal… to say… hey… we survived that impossible thing and a year later things are finally starting to get better. It… is… soul healing.”

Garrus turned back, “Just smile and pretend nothing is happening. It will all be over soon enough.”

“What do you know?” Jane asked, sure that this was going to take hours considering the amount of people on the stage around her.

But Garrus didn’t get a chance to answer as the current Council walked onto the stage. The Normandy crew and team stood at attention and waited for the council to get into position. Bakara stood beside Sparatus having been elected recently to be the first Krogan on the council. Next to her was Admiral Shala’Raan nar Rannoch the Quarian representative on the council. The Geth representative, who had been nicknamed Glitch by Alliance soldiers during the war and decided to keep the name, stood slightly behind her as she loomed so much larger than most of the Council as she was a Prime unit. Anderson was still the temporary Human Councillor although many were pushing for Jane to be made the permanent human councillor. Something Jane was currently still trying to figure out if she even wanted to do it or not. She and Liara hadn’t had a chance to talk about it and to be honest she was focused on one thing at the moment… getting the courage to ask Aethyta to marry her daughter and then the madness that was going to come from that declaration.

Thea gave Jane a small smile as she stood next to the newly installed Hanar councillor which put two bodies between herself and Valern as next to the Hanar was the temporary Volus councillor. Beside Valern was the temporary Elcor councillor. So far, the Drell had yet to decide if they would take a seat on the council although they now had an official Ambassador. While the Batarians had yet to decide if they were going to follow galactic law and join them, the offer was still open to them and would be even if they decided not to at this time. She stood in the middle of the council, having been chosen, since she was the longest serving member, to be the main speaker.

“Please be seated,” Thea directed at the Normandy, the easiest way to refer to the group on the stage. Everyone sat, Jack tugged at her uniform, much more comfortable in the casual clothes she was allowed to wear at Grissom which was quickly becoming more than a school for humanities finest as other races started to be accepted. Miranda pinched her to stop her from fidgeting, like Jack she worked at Grissom and was enjoying teaching.

Thea started to read out a speech about why they were here today, like anyone could forget that a year ago today they had come together in one large allied fleet, to bring down the Reapers. Although everyone knew the real reason, they had even managed to take down the Reapers was because of the Normandy and Shepard.

Thea however extoled all the races and people who had come together to fight the reapers, after doing that for several minutes she then started to praise the Normandy for all that they did to bring us together and to ultimately be the key to bringing down the Reapers.

“Now we could stand here for the next few hours as we award medals to the members of the Normandy, instead we’ve decided to award the medals to one person while the others will get handed all their medals in a case.”

Jane only just managed to keep back a groan as she now understood what Garrus meant and what was about to happen. Garrus and a few others chuckled gently in amusement.

She had been offered Admiral rank shortly after the war had ended, she had refused much to Hackett’s and Anderson’s amusement. However, she was promoted anyway, although she never actually answered when someone called her Admiral, much to everyone’s chagrin. Bakara had then offered a solution and a brand new one of a kind rank was created just for her and would probably never be awarded to anyone ever again. It was a rank that made her equal to an Admiral but still had Commander in it as that was all she answered to.

“Supreme Fleet Commander, Urdnot Jane Shepard vas Normandy.” Thea called only just keeping the smile from her face.

Jane stood only just keeping from glaring at the snickering people around her. The Krogan had officially petitioned the Alliance to correct Jane’s records to include the fact that she was a proud member of clan Urdnot about six months ago. Shortly after that the Quarians had requested that Jane have her ship name added, both had been accepted without her knowledge or permission.

Walking forward Jane came to a stop and stood at attention. One by one, each of the races presented Jane with a medal of honour, the Krogan actually created a medal just for this occasion, although Wrex was considering making it a permanent thing. Jane grinned at the Drell Ambassador, as he was someone she knew, Kolyat, pinned the medal to her growing collection before he bowed his head and greeted her as his father used to, with the name Siha before he walked away. Jane stiffened a little as Ka’hairal Balak walked forward, she glanced to Thea but there was no concern on her face.

To the best of her knowledge she was still considered a criminal by what remained of the Hegemony, for destroying the Alpha relay and killing over three hundred thousand Batarian colonists, so had done her best in the last year to not aggravate them even as she quietly helped them rebuild.

Balak stopped before Jane and opened a box to expose a medal, “On behalf of the Batarian people I present this medal in thanks and in honour for all that you did to stop the Reapers. As leader of the Batarian people I also absolve you of any and all crimes we have placed upon you concerning the Alpha relay incident.” He told her as he lifted the medal and attached it to her chest.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Jane told him gently.

“True… but it is the best for my people, change will come slowly… but our ways almost led to our destruction and the only reason why we weren’t destroyed… was because you gave us a chance by letting us stand with you and in the same moment… gave us the right to be proud Batarians.” He tilted his head a little hoping she would understand his words, know that he was fully aware of what she had told the council when it came to the Batarians while she was still recovering from her wounds. He offered his right hand, having read up a little more about humans while he and the remaining members of the leadership considered the best way for their people to thrive. He hoped that Jane, who had seemed to grasp Batarian culture a lot more than he thought she would, would see that they were trying to understand Human culture and truly move to peaceful relations. That Jane wouldn’t ignore his gesture.

He needn’t have feared, no sooner had he offered his hand did she grasp it, no hesitation what so ever and gave it a firm but not uncomfortable grip. After a few moments she released his hand and he stepped back and walked off. At the moment Batarians weren’t ready to take a seat on the council but he firmly wanted that to happen in his life time.

Aethyta presented Jane a medal on behalf of Thessia and when Jane thought it was finally over Thea walked forward and hug a medal around her neck on behalf of the council. “Speech.” Thea reminded gently before she walked away. She was interested in what the human would say as she hadn’t submitted a speech so that it could be put on the prompter.

Jane groaned gently and followed Thea to the podium. She was told weeks ago that she had to prepare a speech, she hadn’t, choosing to ignore it. Now she just had to wing it. She took a deep breath as she looked out over the expectant faces. “I’m not really one for speeches…”

“BULLSHIT!” Jack said loudly as she tried to cover it with a cough. Her friends snickered as Miranda covered her face, feeling a headache coming on. Many in the watching crowd also chuckled.

Jane glanced over and gave a mock glare to Jack before she turned to back the crowd. “Everyone believes that the greatest battle we’ve ever fought… was against the Reapers… a war we won a year ago… by standing together.” She said, “You would be wrong though… our greatest battle is still to come.” She told them all and even noticed some concerned frowns, the last time Jane had warned them about some great big threat they had ignored her, the Reapers came and they only just managed to survive it.

“But… It will also be… our greatest adventure.” She told everyone with a reassuring smile. “See… the Reapers are dead… we did that. We broke a cycle of violence and death which has plagued our galaxy for millions of years… which has wiped out so many races, so many cultures. But now we have no big threat… nothing to force us to put aside past wrongs, to forgive the crimes or slights done against our races…” She told everyone. “That is going to be our greatest battle and our greatest adventure, learning to work together, to create a future the Reapers would have denied us. A future we all fought for and lost for.” She took a moment to think. “Over the last year… we’ve been so focused on rebuilding, but soon… we won’t be rebuilding… we’ll be standing at beginning of…” she hesitated for a moment, “Something new. Something that could glorious…”

Taking a moment, she glanced around, “But only if we can learn to do it together. However, I’m just a Solider…”

Miranda pinched Jack to keep her from interrupting Jane like she knew her girlfriend was tempted to do.

“I don’t know how to get to that future we all fought for… all I know… is that during the fighting, we brought out the best in each other.” Jane told them all honestly. “Krogans fought side by side with Turians and Salarians, Humans fought side by side with Batarians, Quarians fought side by side with Geth. Races which were once enemies, who had well deserved grudges, working together for one goal.” She told everyone proudly. “Let’s do it again… but this time… let’s prove the Reapers wrong… together.”

Jane stepped back from the podium and took a few steps away from it. She took a deep breath, came to attention and saluted. “Who’s like us!” she called.

The Normandy jumped to their feet and saluted or simply stood straight. “Damn few and those who aren’t are dead.” They called back as one.

“Oorah!” was called by the watching military people regardless of race as they had learnt how to react to this human custom. The presentation ended after that although boxes were being handed to everyone which contained similar medals and the corresponding ribbons, to the ones Jane had received.  
“Don’t do speeches my arse,” Jack told her before she noticed all of the medals. “Damn Shepard, you have enough metal on your chest to make a statue.” She told her humorously.

“I am afraid to lean forward because I am so top heavy at the moment that I will just fall over.” Jane explained which caused Garrus to snort in amusement. “Something funny Primarch?” Jane asked.

Garrus’s mandibles flared a little in barely contained amusement, “Not at all Supreme Fleet Commander, Urdnot Jane Shepard vas Normandy.” He told her.

Tali gave Garrus a good shove. “Leave Shepard alone, you know she hates it when people use her full name and Rank in the same sentence.”

Samara tried to decline the box of medals being offered to her. “Mother,” Falere said as she took the box for her, she wore a visible implants across her forehead, they had been created by the Geth which both showed she was an Ardat-Yakshi but one whose ability to meld had been supressed. At the moment she was one of a very small number of Ardat-Yakshi who had survived the war, the few who had were all like Falere and had themselves sworn off feeding and lived a life of celibacy. The Geth who had gone to help rebuild the monastery, after learning about the genetic condition, had created the first implants which completely turned off an Ardat-Yakshi’s ability to feed. The Matriarchs were still wary of it but they were willing to try. “Please forgive my mother, as a Justicar she isn’t allowed to own anything besides some personal weapons and her armour.” She explained to the human who just nodded.

“You know… if it wasn’t for the celibacy, I would be highly tempted to become a Justicar,” Jane said as she walked forward, her medals jingled gently against her chest.

“We wouldn’t have you,” Samara remarked playfully as she gave Jane a gentle hug.

“Yeah… I’m too hot headed…” Jane agreed before she offered her hands to Falere.

Falere glanced at Jane’s hands for a moment, surprised that she even wanted to risk touching her. Most Asari were afraid to touch her. After tucking the box under her arm, she placed her hands in Jane’s in greeting.

“You are looking well Falere. How is the rebuilding going?” Jane asked still holding her hands.

Falere smiled, “Faster than I thought, the Geth… they’ve been a real help and Mother brought other survivors to the temple. So, I am not alone anymore.”

Jane nodded, “good, I am glad that the Matriarchs are trusting the technology the Geth created for you.”

“Liara is going to get jealous you know,” Wrex said to Jane even as he struggled with one of his brood.

Jane released her, “Yeah, better not anger the misses.” She turned to the little bundle, “Is that Mordin?” she asked as she touched the little Krogan.

“Yep, I told you I would call a daughter Mordin.” Wrex said proudly.

Thea walked over to join them and even placed a hand on Falere’s shoulder in greeting. “Sorry about today Jane.” She explained.

Jane just sighed, “I get it… doesn’t mean I like it.”

Thea chuckled before she released Falere. Samara took the box and went to hand it to Thea, “I cannot accept this.” She told her.

Thea took the box and then gave it to Falere, “Your daughter can have them then.” She said side stepping the Justicar code slightly. Technically they were still Samara’s, it was just that her daughter owned them.

Samara blinked and considered what was going on and putting it against the code. “Since I do not own them it is not against the code.”

“By the way I have armour patches for you,” Jane told her as she pointed to two imaginary holes in Samara’s armour on her left arm, “you know… to patch the holes.” She pulled from her pocket two mission patches. One for the Omega Suicide mission the other for the battle of London.

Samara nodded as she took the metal patches, “Thank you, I’ve been meaning to fix them.”

Jane shook her head in mock disappointment, “Coming to an awards ceremony with damaged armour.”

“I am a Justicar, I did not come here to receive accolades, I came to stand beside the person I swore an oath to.” Samara replied.

Jane smiled outright, Samara had changed, she was no longer quite so rigid, saw more than good and bad but woah the idiot who harmed innocents before her.

“Are you both sticking around for the party?” Jane asked, she had organised a large party for tonight while everyone was in the same place, but she had also organised a week of fun and relaxation for everyone.

“Yes… are you finally… to use a human phrase… biting the bullet and talking to Aethyta?” Samara asked.

Thea chuckled.

“Shut up!” Jane complained.

“Seriously, you can stare down a Reaper who was fully intending to kill you but you can’t talk to a Matriarch.” Thea teased.

Jane glanced around to check where the cameras were but they were being kept right back. She leant in to speak softly and to hide her lips from the cameras. “And have you told your mother you’ve become bondmates with Aria T’lok yet?” she asked.

Samara tried not to laugh, as Thea blanched at the thought.

“I thought so.” Jane said.

“You do realise this party would be a lot more fun if we had a real reason to celebrate, like an engagement party.” Ashley said as she joined them, she greeted everyone even Falere something Jane would have thought impossible years ago as Ashley had been a little bit of a Xenophobe.

“Why don’t you and Vega…” Jane started to say but Ashley showed a wedding band on her ring finger.

“We eloped like two months ago.” She explained a little bashfully, they had been keeping it quiet for months.

“Perhaps Liara and I should just do that, sneak away and…” Jane started to say but someone gently slapped the back of her head.

“Don’t you dare,” Garrus growled, “Tali would kill you if you got married without her.”

“Right.” Jane stated as she rubbed the back of her head.

Garrus turned to Ashley, “And you are lucky she isn’t going after you for not including her.”

Ashley nodded in understanding.

“Shepard,” Wrex said in a truly serious tone even as he struggled with a wriggling Krogan child, “Where are your quads? You are Krogan, a proud member of clan Urdnot… not some soft skinned pyjack.”

Jane groaned and stomped off to get this over with before she got teased any more. She found Aethyta talking to Karin.

“Matriarch Aethyta, can I steal you for a few moments.” Jane asked and Karin did her best not to laugh, fully aware of what Jane wanted to talk about.

Aethyta glanced between the two women, “Well this seems interesting, okay.”

Karin realised that she was the only one around here, everyone else had already discreetly moved away. “I am… over there…” she told them before she swiftly left.

“Okay kid… what’s on your mind?” Aethyta asked.

Jane took a deep breath, feeling constricted by all the heavy medals on her chest. “I would like to ask for your daughters’ hand in marriage.”

“No,” Aethyta told her as she crossed her arms.

Jane had kind of expected that answer, Aethyta had a skill for getting under people’s skin. “I get it, I’ve done a lot of things wrong when it comes to Liara, dying on her being the biggest one. But I also came back for her… twice. I can promise you, that no one will love Liara as much as I do.” She told the Matriarch honestly, gaining confidence as she went. “I know that I don’t have to ask your permission for your daughters’ hand, if I went over to Liara this moment and proposed she’ll say yes. But it’s an old human custom, I hope you’ll respect it like I respect Asari culture because honestly I won’t take no for an answer.” She finished firmly.

Aethyta watched Jane’s eyes as they bore into her, her resolve was powerful and Aethyta was kind of glad that Jane hadn’t lost her cool when she tested her. It would not have been nice to be knocked out by Jane and have it all over the news, at least for her daughter, she personally didn’t give a crap. She smiled at Jane, “Sorry kid, I’ve been brushing up on my understanding of human culture. Apparently…” she drawled, “potential human father in laws can be dicks when making sure their daughter had found the right person.”

Jane felt relief flood her system. “So… that’s a yes.”

Aethyta chuckled, “Couldn’t think of a better person to bond with my little wing and be the father to my grandbabies. After all… didn’t you save the galaxy?” she teased.

Jane pretended to think about that, “I might… have had… a small hand in that.”

Aethyta laughed heartily then gave her an expectant look. “Go on, you said if you went and asked her today, she’ll say yes… prove it… go ask her.”

Jane undid a button and reached into her jacket to pull out the ring she had brought and had kept handy before she walked off to find Liara who was laughing with friends.

Jane glanced over to see the cameras were still very much focused on people milling on the stage.

“So begins the shit storm,” she muttered to herself as she came to stand before Liara. She took a deep breath, “Liara T’Soni,” she said to get her beloveds attention. Liara turned to her and her jaw dropped as Jane dropped down to one knee. The humans all started to kick up antics as they understood the gesture instantly, Liara also knew what this meant as well.

“About fucking time Lola!” James exclaimed breaking into Jane’s proposal.

Ashley put her husband into a headlock, “Sorry skipper.” She apologised for him even as he tried to break free to watch.

Jane turned back to Liara and held out the ring she had spent months searching for. “Liara T’Soni…”

“Urdnot…” Wrex complained and got a warp to the face for interrupting again.

Liara covered her mouth, desperately trying to keep from laughing at their friends who were doing what they did best, take the shit out of each other and out of the woman who brought them together. She glanced to Miranda who had been behind the warp to Wrex’s face.

“Urdnot Liara T’Soni vas Normandy,” she glared at her friends for a moment daring them to interrupt again, and got chuckles but no one dared to speak. Then turned back to Liara and let love fill her eyes. “Would you do me the honour of being with me for the rest of my life as my wife and bondmate?” she asked.

Liara launched herself at Jane knocking her over, whistles and cat calls came from the humans as Wrex demanded to know who had thrown the warp at his face. The kiss was passionate and Jane was confident that her answer was yes.

Jane broke the kiss, “So… yes?” she asked.

“Of course, it is.” Liara told her as she kissed Jane again, their friends whooped and cheered. Breaking the kiss for a second time Jane tugged at Liara’s left glove to pull it off so that she could place the ring. Once the ring was in place, she kissed it, it was such a tender gesture that it had Liara kissing her passionately again.

Once Liara had thoroughly expressed her feelings via her kiss she realised how public this proposal had been and suddenly wanted to be in a much more private setting with the love of her life.

She got to her feet easily, Jane on the other hand held up her arms. “Help… the medals… too heavy… can’t breathe…” she told everyone comically and was pulled to her feet. The moment she was on her feet she felt pounding on her back from her friends. Wrex pushed forward to congratulate her.

“Wrex you pyjack!” Jane complained before she took a stance and firmly head butted the Krogan.

Wrex hadn’t expected the sudden head butt so hadn’t braced for it, he took a step back then quick as lightning head butted her back.

Bakara got between them before it escalated. “Where is Mordin?” she asked Wrex and he was suddenly sweating buckets as he started to search for his daughter. “Congratulations Jane.”

Grunt pushed forward, Jane was ready for it and took yet another head butt, this one was gentler, a friendly head butt but it still hurt as Grunt had more armour plating on his head then Wrex did. “So… when do I get to greet my little sisters?” he asked.

Bakara chortled as she went to help Wrex find their inquisitive daughter.

Jane blinked for a moment, right… she always forgot that Grunt was technically and legally her son. “That is up to Liara.” Jane said passing that off to her fiancé and Grunt went to ask her.

“Smooth,” Garrus told her as together Tali and he hugged her.

“You guys are next right? RIGHT?” she asked.

Garrus cleared his throat, “I guess we are next… that or Jack and Miranda since Ash and Vega cheated.”

“We didn’t cheat…” James complained having finally gotten out of the headlock, but having seen Jane headbutt Wrex for interrupting he was glad he had been tied up by his wife which prevented him having the same fate.

“What you knocked her up?” Jack asked in a crude way and when she was met with silence she pointed at the pair. “You did… you knocked her up.”

“Jack!” Miranda exclaimed.

“I’m not pregnant!” Ashley and Liara said at the same time, Ashley to Jack and Liara to Grunt.

Anderson laughed as he walked forward and congratulated Jane on her engagement.

Thea walked over, “You do realise you are making a really good case for being the human Councillor.”

Jane gave her a confused look. “Why... because I know when and how to head butt a Krogan?”

Thea shook her head, “I was talking about your speech,” she explained as she handed Jane a pad, requests for more name changes, the Drell wanted Siha added to her name, they weren’t too fussy as to where. The Hanar wanted Jane to have a soul name and had provided a long extensive list.

Jane rubbed her face.

“By the way, I am not aware of the meaning of the Drell name they call you.” Thea added.

That had Jane concerned, “Wait… they all know me as Siha?” she turned looking for Kolyat. “Kolyat!” she called and the young man joined them.

“Siha, congratulations on…” he began to say.

“Do all the Drell know me as Siha?” she interrupted his words of congratulations.

“When they learnt my father fought beside you, they wanted to know more, so I told them the stories father told me before he died. I always referred to you the same way he did, as Siha. So yes, all Drell know you as Siha.” Kolyat told her honestly.

“So… what does it mean?” Thea asked

Kolyat went to answer but Jane stopped him, “Siha was a tenacious protector… fierce in her wrath and one of the warrior angels of Arashu, a Drell goddess” she explained, vividly remembering what Thane had told her, “Kolyat’s father Thane used to call me that.”

Thea thought about it, “It does fit you… so Siha as your middle name?” She asked as she lifted her omni-tool to make the relevant changes to her Spectre records. “Now… soul name?”

Jane took a deep breath, “I am Urdnot Jane Siha Shepard vas Normandy, my face name is my soul name.”

Thea smiled, “I will let the Hanar know.”


	5. Chapter 5 ~ Party

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 5~ Party

The door to their room was slammed shut behind them and a moment later Liara was pressed up against the wall with Jane fusing their lips together. They had returned to the recently reconstructed T’Soni estate as this was where Jane had organised to have the party, in fact everyone had made their way there as the estate was large enough to house most of them and those who weren’t staying at the estate were borrowing rooms from the estates nearby, although Jane doubted anyone would actually stay there. Most if not all however stopped by their rooms to get out of their formal clothes and into comfortable clothes. Giving Jane and Liara precious alone time.

If Jane had her way, she would be dressed in her favourite pair of N7 sweats but Liara had vetoed that plan weeks ago. At the moment however Jane was more interested in her fiancé and was grumpy about the fact they didn’t have the time to thoroughly sate their need for each other before people started to arrive for the party.

“Why did I decide to start the party so early again?” Jane complained after she broke the kiss.

Liara laughed, “I don’t know why either.”

Jane rested her forehead against Liara’s, “was it okay… such a large public proposal.” She asked concerned as Liara was a private person.

Liara smiled, “It was perfect…” she told her love as Jane started to kiss down the length of her neck.

“Perfect… James was a dick and then Wrex…” Jane started to say before she gently bit the column, unable to resist anymore.

Liara ran gentle fingers through Jane’s hair but she seemed none the worse for wear even after three head butts. “Jane, it was perfect.” She tugged on Jane’s hair to bring her lips back to hers. They held each other for several long minutes as they kissed lazily until a knock on the door broke into their moment.

“I know all you both want to do is Embrace some pretty amazing Eternity for the rest of the night but guests will be arriving soon. I can maybe stall for an hour but… your friends will probably give you crap for it.” Aethyta told them through the door.

“We’re coming,” Liara called back.

“Oh, sorry to interrupt then.” Aethyta replied deliberately misconstruing her daughter’s words.

Jane laughed as Liara blushed, “by the goddess my father.” She complained as they untangled and went to change.

Jane walked over to garment bag and opened it, in it was a nicely tailored pant suit in the human fashion that Liara had insisted she buy while on a trip to Earth. Before she went any further, she took a few moments to take off all of her new medals and placed them on a dresser. Liara had a similarly sized box with her name on it both had tossed their boxes onto a nearby chair just before Jane pushed her up against the door. Once that was done Jane got out of her dress whites, neatly hanging them up. She took a moment to stretch once she was down to her underwear before she finally started to put on the suit. She had decided against wearing the full three piece suit and settled on the black pants, white shirt a deep, almost black, emerald green vest and much to the store clerks chagrin Jane was not wearing the sleek shiny and pointy black shoes or the heels they had presented but a pair of black and white converse all stars.

Walking over to the dresser she opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of N7 cuff links which she placed with only a slight fumble. A N7 tie pin also waited but Jane did not want to wear the tie that came with the suit. Glancing around for her bondmate for a moment she realised Liara had already changed and was in the bathroom to add some lip gloss.

Liara’s eyes were drawn to Jane as she corrected how one of the cufflinks sat and felt her mouth go dry. The suit in the store had looked magnificent on Jane, but the casual look she had going with the suit was tempting her to perhaps take the teasing.

Jane’s eyes scanned over the elegant dress Liara had slid into, wondering how she managed to fit into the skin tight clothes. It took the will that repulsed Harbinger from her mind to keep her from wanting to peel Liara out of her clothes. She reached for a brush and ran it through her messy hair which had been cut professionally a few days earlier.

“How is it you still look messy even after a professional cut?” Liara asked amazed as she ran her fingers through Jane’s hair.

Jane leant in and kissed her with a groan, “Remind me again why I wanted to have a party.”

Liara giggled for a moment, “Well at least we won’t have to hold another party to celebrate our engagement.” She gently stroked the scar on Jane’s face, one she got from the war. “What possessed you to propose in such a public manner?” Liara asked even as she glanced down to the ring on the fourth finger of her left hand.

“Everyone was teasing me,” Jane began.

“You proposed to get everyone off your back?” Liara questioned a little shocked.

Jane suddenly realised how her statement could be read. “Oh, goddess no…” she told Liara earnestly. “Such an idiot,” she berated herself almost using the exact same words Liara had said shortly after they had met. “See… I wanted to do it right, Ashley, Tali and Miranda helped me search for months to find the perfect ring, hard to do but we managed. I’ve had it on me ever since we found it… waiting. The delay was me… I just had to ask your father for her permission. That’s what they were teasing me about, that I couldn’t gather the nerve to do it.”

Liara laughed a little relieved before she realised what Jane had done. “Wait I thought that tradition was… antiquated.”

Jane nodded, “It is, but…” she hesitated not knowing how to explain why she had wanted to go through all that just for Liara.

“So, they were teasing you about not having the nerve to talk to my father…” She suddenly realised why Jane had suddenly proposed, because she had gathered the nerve to talk to her father. “Oh, goddess please tell me she was nice about it.”

Jane smiled, “She’s your father, you know what she’s like. She goaded me by flat out saying No after I asked.”

Liara groaned and placed a hand on her forehead.

“Then after I explained how much I loved you and why I wouldn’t take her No for an answer she just kind of explained she was pulling my leg. Done some research to brush up on her human knowledge, learnt that potential father in laws were allowed to be dicks to make sure their daughter had picked the right one. Her words.” Jane finished explaining.

Liara let out a relieved breath as she rested her cheek on Jane’s shoulder as Jane hugged her. Liara sighed and pulled away, trying to be good. “I guess we better be going, aren’t you going to put on the tie and jacket?”

Jane groaned, “Do I have to…” she complained.

Liara shook her head, “You don’t.”

Jane sighed and walked over to the bag, “I’ll put on the tie, kind of, but the jacket stays here.” Grabbing the tie, she hung it around her shoulders before she flicked up the collar. Expertly she tied a perfect Windsor knot but didn’t bother to tighten it all the way before she flicked the collar down and did up another button but left the top few open.

Glancing in the mirror she checked to make sure the collar was right before she tucked the end of the tie into her vest. Liara had to give herself a shake to break her out of her lustful thoughts. “Let’s go greet our guests.”

Jane offered the crook of her left arm to Liara and she took it.

A few minutes later they were walking down the stairs together and got some cat calls and whistles.

“Well I’ll be,” Aethyta remarked as she watched the couple, in a way she wished she was a couple of centuries younger; she would have definitely tried to get Jane if she was.

James stared as they approached to greet him and Ashley. Both had changed into much more casual clothes, a flowing dress for Ashley and a suit for James. “Damn Lola…”

Ashley cleared her throat and gave her husband a sharp elbow to his side.

Jane laughed, “Ash… Vega flirts… but if I had shown interest, I am sure he would have run for the hills.”

Ashley smiled, “I know… but he needs to learn.”

“Besides Doc would break me with her mind if I got ideas.” He told his wife.

“Too right Vega,” Liara told him seriously and watched as the couple walked away.

Grunt walked in followed at a slower pace by Bakara and Wrex who had smartly decided to leave the children at home with minders.

“Grunt,” Jane greeted and he wrapped his arms around the couple and lifted them up as he hugged them.

“Shepard!” he said happily before he put them down. “Do you need me to be a bouncer?” he asked.

“Not this time, we have proper security here tonight, so enjoy yourself… please don’t eat our future.” Jane added as an afterthought.

“Heh… heh… heh…” Grunt laughed before he walked off.

“Jane, Liara…” Bakara greeted.

“Bakara, Wrex, welcome.” Liara greeted.

“I’ve never been to a non-Krogan party before… is there anything I should know?” Bakara asked.

“Stick with me, I’m an old hand at these parties,” Wrex told her.

“Just enjoy yourself there is heaps of food and drink, please don’t eat our furniture.” Jane told her.

Bakara gave her a confused look.

“Grunt ate a lamp during the last party I threw and I am pretty sure it was Wrex’s teeth marks I found in the leg of a chair that was missing one of its legs.” Jane explained.

“I don’t remember eating a chair,” Wrex remarked which caused Bakara to laugh and together they walked off. Garrus and Tali came down from the room they were sharing in the estate. Garrus had changed out his formal armour and into a Turian suit, Tali hadn’t bothered to change, she was still in her environmental suit although she had recently agreed to allow Geth into her suit to help stimulate her immune system.

Just as she went to greet them, she saw a disturbance at their front gate, instantly she spotted Aria, understandable since she had been invited, what Jane hadn’t expected was for Aria to come with her bondmate, she had expected them to come separately.

Aria ignored the press who demanded to know what her relationship was with the Asari councillor. Thea stopped Aria and let go her bombshell. “We’re bondmates, have been six months.” She explained, the council had known for months as she hadn’t kept it from them, she had thought they might demand her resignation but it was the opposite. They had been genuinely happy for her, Sparatus was his usual lecherous self but none of them considered Thea’s bond with the Queen of Omega as being a major problem, Thea could protect her mind from intrusion and so far, Aria hadn’t done anything which indicated she had access to classified information. The reason they hadn’t gone public was because Thea hadn’t told her mother yet.

Thea then started to make her way to the front door, Aria followed her, both ignoring the press scrum. Liara ushered them in and out of the way of the door.

“So, you did it?” Jane asked Thea.

Thea took a shaky breath and nodded, over the last year she had actually grown close to Jane and Liara and was actually surprised it had happened. “Since you got the nerve, I decided it was time I did as well.”

“But she didn’t stick around long enough to peel her mother from the ceiling.” Aria drawled which caused Thea to gently hit her.

“She didn’t go through the roof, mind you I still don’t think she is over the shock.” Thea explained.

Liara was typing away on her omni-tool. “Let me know if the crones try to use this to oust you. I can help ruin them.” the crones was the term Jane had given the small group of Matriarchs who held a grudge against Thea for telling Jane about the beacon, more so when she released copies of communications which proved they had stopped her from telling Jane until she finally went against them.

Thea’s omni-tool buzzed and she glanced down to see what Liara had sent.

“Mind you, being here, being personally invited to a party for our friends, should make them pause.” Liara added. Thea nodded, Jane may not realise it but she held a lot of political power and sway, it was part of the reason the council wanted her on the council and Liara was the Shadow Broker, they could move worlds if they wanted to.

“That or they’re bigger idiots than I thought,” Aria remarked but the smile couldn’t be quite wiped from her face, they could stop sneaking around now. “Still won’t let me send a couple of assassins?” she asked.

“No… don’t even jest.” Thea told her.

Aria sighed for a moment before her mood changed, “Nice suit Jane… so about that foursome…”

Liara went to vehemently refuse but Jane covered her mouth, “Don’t give her ideas or conditions to break, you know she’ll take it as a challenge.”

Aria grinned, “You’re right…”

Thea groaned and pushed her bondmate into the ballroom before she could finish.

Liara glared at Jane. “Come on you were going to say Never in a million years…” Jane told her and Liara’s hesitation was her answer. “then she would have found a world or a place where a year is a day or something and then tell you weren’t specific about what you considered a year or when that million years were meant to start.”

Liara groaned in frustration as Jane was right, she could totally see Aria do that. Miranda and Jack made their way down the stairs, followed by a blushing Sam, who had probably walked in on something. Miranda was in an elegant red dress, Jack was back in her normal clothes, it did however show off part of the N7 tattoo she had branded into her skin. She actually had two N7 tattoos, one with Jane’s id number the other with her own when she was given N7 designation. In fact, anyone who had fought alongside Jane in the battle of the citadel, the Omega 4 run or the battle of London had been given N7 designation regardless of race. The crew on the Normandy had all been given N5 or N6 in Joker’s, Steve’s and Sam’s cases.

Miranda had her own N7 tattoos only one of them was barely visible.

“Hey Liara, when are you going to let me hook you up?” Jack asked even as her eyes focused on the food table in the ballroom. She in fact did most of the ink work for those Jane considered friend, she was definitely behind everyone getting their N7 brand.

“Maybe tomorrow.” Liara told her, she already wore a pair of Jane’s dog tags, one tag was shiny, the other was battered, a copy of what Jane wore around her neck. The shiny tag, was newish, tossed to Jane by Anderson just before he ordered her to go save the galaxy. The battered set, was the set she had taken from Jane’s body before she handed it to Cerberus. Jane had swapped a tag from each before presenting a set to Liara to wear shortly after Aria had gone back to Omega.

Jane had gone on to explain it was a human military thing, to give your loved one your tags. Liara hadn’t taken them off since. She had actually thought that Jane would have proposed shortly after that but now she knew why it had taken a year for Jane to get around to proposing.

Anderson and Kahlee were chatting with Karin, tables were piled high with food, Jane had hired caterers to prepare food for the horde. When they had talked amounts, Jane had given them the number of people who had said yes to coming, told them to remove 2 as they were AI, 2 could only eat Dextro food, 3 were Krogan and a whole bunch were biotic. The caterers had decided to triple the amount of food to make just to sate the Krogan and then added half again for the rest although Jane told them if they ran short… to order pizzas. Grunt carried a serving platter that he had piled with food others held plates and drinks as they milled around and caught up this time without the press hounding them although Diana and her camera hovered the group trusted her and Jane had veto power of all footage.

Aria had made herself comfortable on a couch, a plate of food balanced on her knee a bottle of vodka in her hand which she had taken straight from the bar. Aethyta was at the bar mixing drinks for people having kicked the actual bartender the caterer had brought, out. Since almost everyone was in the room Jane got everyone’s attention by turning off the gentle background music, Aria had already decided to hack the music the moment she got the chance.

“Alright everyone…” Jane said.

“NO… we will not go on another suicide mission,” Kasumi interrupted and got a roar of laughter.

“Funny,” Jane told the room. “Before you all get drunk or in Grunt’s case go into a food coma.” There was more jeering laughter. “Liara and I would like to thank you for being here with us tonight and for those of you who accepted, with us for the week.” She smiled, “and although this party wasn’t intended to be an engagement party, we wouldn’t have wanted to celebrate it with anyone else…” she paused. “Well not entirely.” She raised her drink, a shot glass with something blue in it that a waiter had offered to her, “to the friends we lost… may they be watching over us…”

Jack groaned.

Jane grinned, “Fine Jack just for you… Here’s to you and here’s to me, best of friends we’ll always be. But if by chance we disagree… well fuck you and here’s to me.” She lifted the shot glass and tossed it back as everyone copied and some let out whoops.

“Finally,” Aria said as she tapped on her omni-tool and a playlist direct from Afterlife started to thump through the house although it wasn’t obscenely loud, allowing people to talk.

Liara turned to Jane, “We love our friends, right?” she asked.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few hours later the party was in full swing, people were dancing to the music, some were chatting, a group were at the bar drinking shots, Zaeed goading them on. Jane however was seated on her couch and watched as her friends had fun. Aria was beside her watching.

“Hey, why weren’t you on the stage with us to get your medals?” Jane asked before she took a swig of Scotch from the bottle she held, Aria had snatched her vodka a while ago so she had gone and gotten another bottle.

Aria groaned, “Jack was right… you’re going to make me dependable. I refused simply because I didn’t want to ruin my image.” She explained, she had received N7 designation like everyone else, and had been respectfully asked to handle a few missions, none of which conflicted with her own operations, she had done them and had enjoyed it, she had also done the mandatory training Hackett had asked of her just so that she was aware of some of the more secret parts of being a N7.

Jane frowned, “Really… you have a bondmate now…”

“I’ve had a bondmate for months, didn’t stop me slaughtering part of the blood pack a couple of weeks back for short changing me.” Aria told her.

“Are the Talons still acting as Omega police?” Jane asked curious.

Aria grunted, “Nyreen’s people… they are giving me a little headache, but… they are a gang… on Omega… I let them do their thing as long as they don’t fuck with me and I get my cut.”

Jane chuckled and watched as Thea danced, her hips swaying seductively. “Heard you did a couple of N7 missions for Steven,” she remarked.

“What of it… they were fun…” Aria told her but she had enough watching her bondmate seductively move and went to join her.

Liara danced with their friends, Samara and Falere were nearby. This was a first for her as she had never been to a party before, although unlike the others she was completely sober as she didn’t drink or do drugs so that she could stay in control of herself. It didn’t mean she wasn’t having fun.

Aria glanced over to Jane after dancing with Thea for a while. “Come on Shepard…”

There was laughter from some of the others.

“What’s so funny?” Aria asked.

“Jane can kill Thresher Maws like they are insects,” Tali explained.

“Take down Krogans in a blood rage without breaking a sweat,” Garrus added.

“Come back from the dead… multiple times,” Ashley stated even as she swayed in James’s arms.

“Can kill a person before they even know she’s there.” James continued.

“Can fall through an Aquarium floor then fight bad guys, in a dress and heels with a pistol,” Liara threw in giving Jane a teasing smile. Jane frowned, as much as she pleaded innocence, it wasn’t like she shot the glass floor, they still gave her shit for it.

“She killed an Ancient race of machines hell bent on killing us all, while on deaths door,” Samara declared.

“Yeah… she can do all that… but Shepard can’t dance.” Jack finished.

Aria blinked for a moment. “Really, you can’t dance.”

Jane stood and tossed back the last of the bottle of Scotch she had. “You guys are terrible friends.” She turned to Liara, “And you are meant support me.” She accused her beloved playfully, she moved away and over to the bar where Aethyta was mixing drinks. Jane put the empty bottle on the bar, then glanced down it to see what was what. She did a quick glance but both Zaeed and Garrus were missing, she sighed and made a mental note to check for booby traps later.

“Hah… I challenge you,” Joker declared as he pointed at Jane.

She sighed, “do you remember what happened the last time you challenged me to a drinking competition… I clearly remember you going green.”

“I haven’t finished a bottle of Scotch either,” Joker told her.

“Jeff… the chances of you winning… are not good,” Edi told her partner.

“Have a little faith Edi.” Joker told her.

“Joker…” Steve told him, “you can’t win.”

Jane moved and sat next to Joker and then turned to Aethyta, “Line us up… and make them dreadful and strong.” Jane told her.

“Dreadful and strong huh?” Aethyta questioned but she shrugged and started to mix something that shouldn’t kill the humans although she doubted anything could kill Jane, in fact even after downing a bottle of scotch she looked like she hadn’t even started drinking. She also knew that before Jane’s body started to do all these weird things, like her cell age regressing, she wasn’t such a heavy weight when it came to drinking. She returned to them and poured out twenty shots, ten each for Jane and Joker.

“Drink, drink, drink, drink…” people started to chant. Aria, Thea and Liara came over to watch. Liara stood directly behind Jane and leant her weight on her partners back.

Jane threw back her first shot and grimaced as she swallowed before she put the glass down upside down and turned Aethyta. “Did you use Ryncol in that?” she asked.

Aethyta gave Jane a mock glare, “No… humans can’t drink… wait… you probably could…”

“Please don’t kill my bondmate before I get the chance to actually bond to them.” Liara told her father even as she wrapped her arms around Jane and gave her a squeeze. _Beat him my love and I promise to make it worth your while._ She told Jane after initiating a shallow meld and pressed her breasts into Jane’s back to let her know what she meant.

Jane glanced to Joker, waiting for him to take his shot, Joker glanced to Jane and frowned. “Hey no cheating.” He told Jane.

“How am I cheating?” Jane asked.

“Moral support… not allowed…” He told Jane before he tossed back his shot and pulled a face as he tried to force down the shot.

“Hey… not my fault my girl wants to hug,” Jane answered before she tossed back a second shot and put the glass down upside down, “Damn… it doesn’t get any easier.”

Aria looked at the colour of the shot and had a pretty good idea as to what is was. “It shouldn’t it’s called a Vorcha punch.”

“Want one?” Aethyta asked and Aria nodded, she hadn’t had one in a while, she poured one and Aria knocked it back and only just kept the grimace from her face.

“Yep… still a crap drink…” Aria remarked.

Joker turned to his girlfriend, “Some support Edi?” he asked.

Edi sighed and came to stand behind him and hugged him, she had started wearing clothes shortly after her mobile platform had some modifications done a few months ago. The modifications made her look more organic and even feel more organic, she was dressed in an elegant dress. “I will always support you, even though I know you can’t beat Jane in a drinking game. However…” she leant in to whisper in his ear.

“Can you even have sex?” Aria asked the AI; Thea gave her a nudge and a small glare.

“This was an infiltration model… so yes… although… recently…” Edi began.

“EDI!” Joker exclaimed.

Edi paused, “Right… openly discussing sex is inappropriate for humans.” Joker groaned as the others laughed, he tossed back the next shot.

“Let’s make this interesting,” Jane said as she tossed back the rest of her shots and then turned to Joker. “Match it.” She told him; she was finally beginning to feel tipsy although she wondered for how long.

Joker got to shot number eight before he finally called Uncle, an impressive shade of green. Edi rubbed his back, “Are you okay?” she asked.

“Give me a little.” Joker told her.

Jane grabbed the two remaining shots and knocked them back, everyone cheered.

Aria frowned, back over a year ago Jane would not have been able to drink all that and not pass out on her couch. Jane turned around in her seat and went to give Liara a kiss but she pulled away. “Not until you’ve washed that yuck from your mouth.” Liara told her.

Jane stood and with a smile walked away.

Aria turned to Liara as they walked away from the bar, “How long has she been able to drink like that?”

Liara sighed, “A few months… maybe.”

Thea frowned, “More side effects?”

Liara nodded, “We think so.”

“But she is fine?” Thea asked.

“Healthy as can be, just weird.” Liara remarked, no one could explain what was going on inside Jane at the moment, just that what was happening wasn’t hurting her and was in fact making her better. Her injured shoulder, from Akuze, completely healed and no longer pained her.

Liara found Jane ten minutes later seated with David and Kahlee chatting comfortably. Liara sat on Jane’s lap and wrapped her arms around Jane.

“So… has Jane asked yet, how are Miranda and Jack doing at the school?” Liara asked,

Kahlee chuckled, “Other than the fact we have to keep the rooms around them empty… surprisingly well, Jack is doing wonders with young biotics and Miranda’s classes and medical research is responsible for David to be able to walk again.”

“Yeah I guess without all of Cerberus’s funding she had to improvise the implants a little.” Jane remarked.

Kahlee shook her head, “no more to do with the fact that she didn’t want to reproduce exactly what she did to bring you back.”

“Trillions of dollars to bring you back, not really practical.” David remarked. “I believe Miranda was just working on trying help people with paralysis, said it was the only implants that could be mass produced and have wider uses than any of the other technology used on you.”

“And probably safer,” Jane stated and got nods. She smiled at the other couple. “So… Kahlee… when are you finally going to make an honest man out of David?”

David nearly inhaled his drink and started to cough as Kahlee laughed.

“You know… you are right… heavens forbid he asks me himself, years we’ve been together… no ring.” Kahlee told them. “Makes me really proud when I watched you propose to Liara. I had hope.”

“Yeah just do it yourself,” Liara agreed.

“I know a good jeweller.” Jane told her, “got Liara’s ring from them.” she typed on her omni-tool for a moment before she sent the information to Kahlee.

Kahlee smiled, “thanks, I will contact them. Just need you to join the council and then David can come live with me full time.”

“Yeah… we haven’t talked about that. We’ve been too focused on other things and I’ve been too focused on proposing to Liara to give it any consideration.” Jane told the other couple.

Liara stood, it had been slowly building throughout the night but she wanted to lock Jane in their room and not let her out. “You know what…” she grabbed Jane’s tie and tugged on it forcing her human up and to follow her.

“Liara!” Jane complained as she was partially dragged after her beloved, there was some good-humoured laughter. She followed her lover as Liara dragged her from the party by her tie, not caring about the laughter or teasing that followed them. “Um… Liara?” she questioned.

“Shh,” Liara told her as she dragged her woman back to their room. With a simple pull motion Liara dragged Jane into their love nest and shut the door locking it. Jane turned Liara, pinned her to the door and kissed her passionately, Liara groaned into the kiss, parting her lips, inviting Jane to plunder her mouth. Jane didn’t need an invitation, her tongue pressed into Liara’s mouth, kissing her deeply, tasting and teasing her.

Liara squirmed in Jane’s arms, she tugged her gloves off wanting to be able to touch, to feel Jane. Her hands fisted into Jane’s hair, pulling her tight and wishing that she could wrap a leg around her but her tight dress prevented that. As if guessing what she wanted Jane fisted the sides of her dress and slowly crept it up, she continued to kiss Liara. Inch by inch she crept the dress up until she had it bunched up above her hips.

Finally, Liara thought as she lifted her body and wrapped her legs around Jane, Jane moaned in approval as her hands started to explore the rest of her bondmate’s body through the cloth of her dress. Liara tugged the tie off and then started to fumble at the buttons of her shirt and vest. Once she had opened enough buttons, she slid her hands into Jane’s clothes, touching the skin she craved.

Liara broke the kiss, “Please I need more…” she told Jane then she arched against her as Jane’s fingers brushed over her sex through her panties.

“More… what…” Jane asked in a teasing tone.

“Everything.” Liara breathed.

Jane smiled and lifted Liara from the door and with several strides walked over to their bed and put them down on it. The weight of Jane above her, pressing her down into the mattress was comforting. “I want you naked,” Liara breathed.

The grin Jane gave her was a little goofy but she pushed herself up and started to kick off her shoes. Liara sat up and started to undo her dress, her eyes not once leaving Jane and what she was doing. Stepping away for a moment Jane put away her cuff links, not wanting to lose them.

By the time she had come back Liara had tossed away her clothes and was seated on the bed waiting. Jane went to remove her clothes but Liara let out a sound of protest. Jane paused, “You want slow huh?” Liara licked her bottom lip and then bit it.

Jane sighed, she didn’t quite understand her love’s fascination with her removing her clothes but when she was in a mood, she would want Jane to strip slowly, teasing her, it drove her wild. Jane slid her vest off first, letting it fall to the floor. While the cloth fell, she slowly tugged her shirt from her pants and then undid the final few buttons. With deliberate movements she peeled back her shirt and slowly let it slide over her body and then slowly down it. Liara squirmed on the bed, rubbing her thighs together as her eyes feasted on Jane’s body.

Her belt was next, she slid it completely free and let it fall to the ground, her pants had been tailored slightly on the loose side but that was how Jane preferred them, they slid down a little exposing the upper edge of Jane’s panties. Liara couldn’t help herself she opened her legs and started to circle her clit.

“Impatient,” Jane told her.

Liara just groaned and although she wanted to, she couldn’t take her eyes of her Commander.

Jane put two fingers in her mouth, swirled her tongue around them getting them nice and wet before trailing her wet fingers down her body, following the contours of her muscles. Liara’s fingers started to move a little faster as Jane’s fingers moved closer to her pants. With a swift movement the button was undone but Jane took her time with the zipper, slowly dragging it down.

“There’s teasing and then being a tease,” Liara told her.

“Coming from the woman who is pleasuring herself before me,” Jane told her, as she pushed her pants down leaving her in just her underwear, “Besides, you wanted slow.” Lifting her feet one at a time she removed her socks.

“I don’t want slow anymore, I just want you.” Liara told her.

Jane chuckled and, in a few moments, she was naked, grabbing the hand Liara was using to pleasure herself Jane sucked them into her mouth, tasting her juices for several moments before letting her fingers slip free. Jane crawled onto the bed and forced Liara to move further up it as well, grabbing Liara’s thighs Jane opened them and leant down to lick at her Azure in long slow sweeps of her tongue. Liara’s left hand fisted into Jane’s hair, wanting more, needing more. Jane slid her left arm under Liara’s leg and hooked her arm over Liara and held her hip, holding her still. Just as she focused her attention on Liara’s clit she slid two fingers into her bond mate’s body, hooking her fingers she started to thrust her fingers, striking the place which had Liara teetering on the edge with just a few well-placed motions.

“Please…” Liara begged.

Jane paused and glanced up to Liara, “Please what?” she asked.

“Take me… claim me… fuck me…” Liara breathed out in a needy voice.

Leaning down Jane went back to licking and thrusting her fingers.

“More… I… cock…” Liara told her barely making any sense.

Jane pulled away and arched an eyebrow as she pulled away. “What?” she asked, she knew what Liara wanted, but wanted her to ask for it. They used toys quite frequently but Jane always let Liara decide when, she was content to bury he head between her beloved’s legs and did so as often as she could.

“I want you inside me, your cum inside me.” Liara told her.

Jane pushed up and got off the bed and walked over to their toy drawer and after using a thumb print, she opened it. “Normal or special?” she asked, Fornax sex emporium had a very wide range of toys, ejaculating dildos of all shapes sizes and inclinations, plus all the sexual aids you could ever need or want. Normal was just a normal ejaculating strapless dildo, special had a vibrating function.

“Normal,” Liara told her.

Jane opened a box and closed it, the blue one was Liara’s, opening the other box a tan dildo waited, she grabbed it and placed the shorter end within her body and placed the sensor plate against her clit, grabbing the remote she turned on the pre-set settings, the dildo matched her body temperature and she chose the normal setting for length and girth. Her next step was to get a squirt of lube, walking back to the bed she smeared the lube over the head of her cock and then slid her hand down her cock. Closing her eyes in pleasure she squeezed herself, the sensor plate made her feel like the cock in her fist was actually a part of her body.

Crawling back onto the bed she came to kneel between Liara’s spread thighs. Liara held her arms open, inviting her beloved into her embrace. Jane leant in, bracing her body with one arm as the other guided her new appendage into the right area, rubbing herself against Liara’s azure. Liara’s groan was needy and for a moment Jane wondered if she should go back and change the settings make her cock thicker.

As if guessing Liara wrapped her arms around Jane and dug her nails in. “Take me… claim me… hard…” she told Jane.

Jane shifted her hips, lodging the head against her entrance causing Liara to moan and shift her hips wanting Jane’s cock within her. Jane pressed forward, Liara moaned as the head of the shaft stretched her, once Jane was a few inches in she pulled back a little before she flexed her body and slammed her cock in hard.

Liara’s cry in response was pleasure and slight pain combined, Jane kept thrusting, finding the rhythm Liara wanted which was hard and intense. Once she was fully seated Jane changed the way she was holding Liara and started to really make love to her bondmate the way she wanted. Her tongue circled a purple nipple for a few moments before she sucked it into her mouth. The slight sting of pain was her indicator that Liara was scratching her back but it was pleasurable so she didn’t care, she bit down on the nipple between her lips and lashed the captured bud with her tongue causing Liara to squirm a little and groan.

Jane felt the touch of Liara’s mind wanting to meld so that they could come together. She saw no reason to hold off, besides, having her beloved once… generally wasn’t enough. With a thought she opened her mind to Liara who greedily fed on Jane’s pleasure as much as Jane fed on hers.

The lines blurred between their minds and bodies, sometimes it was impossible to know whose thoughts, whose pleasure was forward in their mind. Jane thrust deeply one last time before she let loose and they both climaxed strongly, with a shift of her body the head of her cock hit that spot which drove Liara wild and she rocked against it as the fluid the cock had gathered from Jane’s body shot into Liara’s. the first orgasm was quickly followed by a second but that was all at the moment they slowly came down together and Jane became a little more aware of her body and what she was doing, her teeth were biting hard into Liara’s neck, quickly she released the bite and focused on the bruise already forming.

 _Sorry,_ she told her bondmate.

Liara soothed her by directing content and love at her, _don’t be, I like it when you get all possessive and bite._

Jane panted for a moment before she placed a soothing kiss on the bite then kissed her way up and back to Liara’s lips. At first the kiss started off as languid, they had taken the edge off and now were in no rush to find their pleasure. Slowly the kiss became more heated and Jane started to rock her hips.

Liara broke the kiss, “a second round?”

Jane chuckled, “second, third, fourth… I am going to fuck you until we’re both exhausted.” She promised.

Liara smiled, “promise?” she arched into Jane’s body as the thrusts started to become more demanding.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Jane woke with a start and then groaned as she realised Liara was between her legs, coaxing an orgasm from her body. She didn’t know how long Liara had been down there, long enough as she could feel that she was close to coming. There was a smugness in her mind, she guessed it was Liara’s and was a little surprised that she was in her mind. It was hard to break into Jane’s mind, since the attempted indoctrination she had to let someone into her mind. However, her mind might have gotten used to Liara’s and had simply allowed her in because Jane always did.

She reached down and gripped Liara’s crest. Liara hummed against her even as her tongue lashed at her clit and her fingers moved in and out of her. Jane’s toes curled as she felt her body tense, Liara’s free hand gripped Jane tightly, to the point of bruising.

“Liara!” Jane called out as she came, she felt Liara cum as well as they shared her orgasm, Liara continued to lick and thrust through the orgasm drawing it out until it waned. Jane panted as she came down, it wasn’t a first for them, for Liara to wake her from sleep with an orgasm, but it wasn’t something common either as Liara preferred to just let Jane sleep, because she looked so peaceful.

Jane checked the time and groaned, it was just after dawn, she had planned to wake at this time to go about her normal training. She stroked Liara’s crest a few times then started to make moves to get up. Together they went to shower, “Damn,” Jane muttered as she rubbed a soapy hand up Liara’s neck and gently over the several bite marks that littered it, several more littered the other side and more were dotted over random places.

“Have you looked at yourself?” Liara told her as she ran soapy hands over Jane.

Jane could feel the sting of water against the scratches on her back but that was it. She gathered Liara close and kissed her. “We are so getting teased,” she told her.

“But it was worth it.” Liara added, she ached deliciously from last night’s antics. They finished washing and then walked out of their shower, grabbing towels they dried off and Jane finally got a chance to see herself in the mirror. She didn’t remember Liara biting her last night but she obviously had, it even looked like Liara had attacked her neck a lot more thoroughly than Jane did hers. Leaving the bathroom Jane and Liara both dressed in panties, cotton shorts and sports bras. Both had gotten into the habit of doing Asari yoga and some light sparring every morning, or at least when they weren’t working.

They left their room and went down stairs, Joker was passed out on a chair, a bucket was tucked under an arm, Wrex was asleep on the floor, Aria and Thea were standing at kitchen bench watching Edi make tea and coffee. Aria however poured herself and Aethyta some Serric Ice brandy and almost choked on it when she spotted the pair. Aethyta started to laugh, Thea did her best not to laugh but couldn’t keep the smile from her face.

“I’m glad you are finally not doing it all… civilised.” Aethyta told them bluntly.

“Father!” Liara exclaimed as Jane poured them both cups of coffee.

“What… I’m proud that you are wearing each other so proudly, you had me worried.” Aethyta told the pair.

“Did you stay here last night?” Jane asked Thea trying to change the direction of this conversation.

Thea nodded, “Aria had Grizz go and get us a change of clothes and we slept in your office. I didn’t want to deal with my mother just yet.”

Liara only just managed not to react to that, her office was where she did her Shadow broker work when they were here. She had forgotten to lock the door but the network was secure because unlike her predecessor she believed in security, so much in fact her office had cameras everywhere, she promised herself to check and then delete the footage recorded last night.

Aria was not in her normal leather outfit, she was dressed in much the same clothes Jane and Liara were only in different colours, Thea was also dressed in loose clothes she could work out in only less revealing, but it did not hide the bruises on her neck.

“Man, and you tease me about Jack.” Miranda remarked as she grabbed the tea pot and poured herself a cup. Jack came up behind Miranda and held her from behind and even placed a kiss on her shoulder.

“So… why is everyone awake this early?” Jack asked as she stole Miranda’s cup, she stopped just before taking a mouthful. “Urg… how can you drink this.” She complained just as Edi handed her a cup of coffee.

Miranda took her cup back. “Like you… it is an acquired taste.” She answered then jumped as Jack pinched her arse hard.

“Is Samara up Edi?” Jane asked.

“Yes, she is outside with Falere,” Edi answered as she finished making enough tea and coffee for everyone.

“So… Asari Yoga?” Jane asked the group even as Ashley joined them holding her head. “Commander Williams… is it time for us to run an evacuation drill? You know… with all those loud noises, wailing sirens.”

Ashley groaned, “I hate you sometimes,” she told Jane.

“I hate you sometimes…” Jane said in a leading manner as Ashley swallowed some pills with coffee.

“I hate you sometimes ma’am,” Ashley corrected, knowing that Jane was teasing her.

“Don’t you feel better?” Jane asked teasingly as they moved as a group outside. They joined Samara and Falere on the damp grass. Everyone took a spot, giving themselves a little room and sat to meditate for a couple of minutes.

“The first person to snore… will have to fight me,” Samara warned them and there were chuckles from the others but they all settled down and fell into meditation. After ten minutes of meditation Samara moved them onto Asari yoga. “We will start with Kurinth’s bow,” she directed and everyone moved into the pose, their legs spread with one-foot pointing outwards, once they were in the right position everyone bent forward towards the outward facing foot and held their ankle. “Now breath in. Hold. Exhale. Change sides.” Samara continued to talk them through various stances, they finished their session almost an hour later in the Matriarch’s Pose.

By then almost everyone was up, Wrex walked out with a pot of coffee which he drank directly from. “Please tell me you made more?” Jane asked Edi.

“That pot has Wrex’s name on it. I made three for him, we have plenty of coffee.” Edi reassured her.

“Hey… that’s new?” Jack said as she touched Jane’s left shoulder blade and the tattoo there.

“Not quite, I’ve had it a few months, Aria introduced me to a good artist on Omega.” Jane explained.

“They are good, I want their name,” Jack demanded.

Miranda frowned, “I don’t recognise the text.”

“Ancient Drell…” Jane explained. “I asked Koylat, he got some priests involved when I explained what I wanted and why.”

“What is it?” Ashley asked, the script was flowing and beautiful to look at.

“Thane’s last words, a prayer.” Jane explained.

“And?” Ashley asked, wanting to hear what Thane had said, she had met him in Huerta Memorial and he seemed like such a nice man who had gone on to protect a councillor simply because he felt honour bound to do so even though he was very sick at the time.

Jane took a deep breath and started to recite the prayer she couldn’t forget, simply because she thought she would be dishonouring Thane’s memory, she brought her hands together as a Drell would and bowed her head a little. “Kalahira, mistress of inscrutable depths, I ask forgiveness. Kalahira, whose waves wear down stone and sand. Kalahira, wash the sins from this one, and set him on the distant shore of the infinite spirit. Kalahira, this one's heart is pure, but beset by wickedness and contention. Guide this one to where the traveller never tires, the lover never leaves, the hungry never starve. Guide this one, Kalahira, and she will be a companion to you as she was to me.”

Ashley dashed tears from her eyes, “Beautiful… who is Kalahira?”

Jane chuckled lifting the melancholy, “The goddess of death and the afterlife. Arashu the goddess of motherhood and protection is where I got my middle name from, Siha.”

“How do you remember so much?” Jack asked.

“I ask questions, listen and remember, not that hard.” Jane answered and smiled as Eezo came barrelling around the corner and up to them. the excited black and red varren came to a stop in the group and got friendly pats. “Eezo, you got big.” Jane told the varren as she gave him a good scratch.

“Yeah… give him another year and he’ll be Alpha size.” Jack said in an indulgent tone. “Even got him a girl, Wrex found her on Tuchunka half-grown and firing off warps at anyone who went near her. There she is…” a second varren came around the corner, a little more cautious than Eezo, her colours were different to Eezo with streaks of green on her body instead of red. “I named her Shep, Shepard when she’s in trouble.” Jack explained and everyone laughed. Shep came forward slowly, Jane knelt and gestured the varren forward. Eezo knocked her over and started to lick her face and since Jane took it with good humour Shep finally came over and sniffed at Jane. Jane gave her a cautious pat, not wanting to stress her out. “I hope you give her heaps of shit… pay back for all the shit she gave me.” Jane told the green streaked varren who butted their head against hers.

“Hey… I… shit…” Jack started to complain before she realised that Jane was right, she had given Jane a heap of shit when she was trying to gain Jack’s trust and she had just named a varren, who was giving her a heap of shit while trying to gain her trust, after her. Jane chuckled.

“So, do they go to class with you, to learn to harness their powers?” Jane asked.

Jack nodded, “Hackett even had me do a N7 mission since I was nearby, go and take out a group of idiots who bombed a Turian supply ship, took them with me… it was sweet.”

“Hey who wants to spar?” James asked as he walked over to join the group. “Not you Lola… you beat me to easily.” He told her firmly as he glanced around at the others.

“Me…” Wrex called and James balked a little.

Jane chuckled and got to her feet after giving both varren another good scratch. “I’ll go find Karin.” She said and just as she turned to go back into the house Karin and Diana came out, Diana still looked partially asleep and Karin already had a med kit in her hands. A camera drone flew pass them and started to follow Diana as she joined them, she had set her camera to follow key people or any group of three or more before she had finally crashed. “Did you get any sleep.” Jane asked sympathetically.

Diana’s eyes went wide as she took in Jane, “By the looks of things I probably got more sleep than you did.”

Jane chuckled. “Highly likely.”

Diana smiled, “So… have you managed to change Liara’s mind, to let me interview you both about how you got together.”

“No, but I am sure if you ask around everyone will tell you how we got together.” Jane told her.

Diana smiled, “I know that you rescued Liara from a Prothean stasis field, kept her from Seran, she helped you figure out the Prothean beacon, you flirted, a lot… and that you got together just before you got to Ilos. Since I got the same story from multiple people, I know it is accurate but… there is normally more to a story.”

Wrex and James’s fight was already over, Ashley was nursing her husband as he had been knocked out.

“Hey are biotics allowed?” Aria asked around.

“Yeah… why?” Liara asked, there was a chance of them doing some damage but it was much safer to do it here than to do it anywhere else.

“Rematch… Jane…” Aria told her already bouncing in on the padded mats.

“Sorry Diana, I better go do that, Aria hates being ignored.” Jane jogged off to join Aria. Diana glanced to her camera but Aria hadn’t ordered her to turn it off, she hoped if she remained quiet Aria would let her record this.

“So… rematch…?” Jane asked Aria.

“I told you I would beat you if biotics were allowed now, I’m going to prove it.” Aria told her.

“Aria…” Samara said with slight concern in her tone, “Jane trained with me for a few weeks about six months ago and a few people I have recommended since then, do not think she is the same person who fought beside you to retake Omega.”

Aria glanced to Jane, “side effects,” she said so quietly and barely moving her lips so that the hovering camera wouldn’t be able to pick it up.

Jane nodded, she was picking up biotic skills she didn’t have before and they were getting stronger, it was why she had gone to Samara, for extra training. Her service record had her as an Infiltrator but if she was to be accessed today, she would confuse the accessors. She was still very much an Infiltrator, specialising in Tech and Combat but she was also in a weird grey area between the biotic classes, Adept, Vanguard and Sentinel. 

“Still going to kick your arse,” Aria said aloud and she fully intended to do so.

Jane and Aria started to circle. “No cheating.” Jane warned.

“Pfft… I am the Queen of Omega… there is only one rule.” Aria told her.

“Yeah… don’t fuck with Aria… I know… does this count… you challenged me?” Jane asked playfully even as they continued to circle, widening the distance instead of closing in.

Aria grinned and quick as lightening threw out a lash which Jane dodged and threw out a slam in retaliation.

“Tali… activate the shield generators please,” Karin called and Tali did just that, their battle ground became surrounded by a barely visible shield which would protect the watchers. Aria felt her feet lift a little but she shielded herself breaking Jane’s slam. They threw their powers at each other, not using any powers which were inherently lethal which prevented Aria from using Reave and Carnage although she was sure Jane would be able to survive the attacks, she did not want to be responsible if she didn’t.

After 10 minutes of exchanging biotic blows Jane tried to pull Aria closer so that she could use her martial arts skills.

“Nope,” Aria told her and used a biotic lift to throw off Jane’s pull. Jane smiled, she had been waiting for Aria to use a large flare and she could see it as Aria gathered her power around her. Jane shifted her feet, gathered her biotics and charged at half speed. Just before Aria unleashed her Flare Jane pushed up and slammed physically into Aria in a very good ruby tackle.

The air was forced from Aria’s lungs, breaking her concentration and her flare from happening. They both slammed into the ground hard. Jane quickly released Aria and pushed herself off before Aria could do something. She just managed to get away before Aria unleashed a flare. Aria got to her feet and glared at Jane ready to continue but Samara came between them and both relaxed knowing that their spar was over and with no clear winner, it was a draw.

“Damn it Jane, how fast were you going when you hit me with that charge?” Aria asked as she moved her back.

Jane walked over as she scratched her cheek. “Had to break your flare, I was pretty sure it was going to be a big one. But I wasn’t going full speed, not enough room for that.” The shields dropped and both walked out, Karin checked them both as a few of Aria’s lashes had made contact and that tackle sounded painful when Jane landed on top of Aria.

Karin gave them both doses of medi-gel and then handed them both two energy packets, it contained, sugar and carbohydrates which both would need if they continued to spar. Both sucked down the packets and then sat to watch as Jack went head to head with Falere. Samara sat next to her, unlike how she was normally dressed in her red armour, she was in cotton shorts and a sports bra, both were in her size and had been brought for her to borrow while she was here.

When she had taken Jane and Liara’s offer for a room while she was here, she had not been expecting anything, more so when she asked if she could bring her daughter. When they had gone to their room, mainly for Falere to put down the small bag she had brought, they noticed that it was plain, nothing fancy in fact it looked like they had stripped the luxury from the room just for her, although the bathroom was plain it had everything she could want including a tub she could soak in.

Falere was impressed as the room was much bigger than the one, she had at the monastery but the furnishing were the same, they saw the note on the bed so both read it. Liara and Jane were reserving this room for Samara to use whenever she was on Thessia, that she had an open invitation to come and use it whenever she needed and that she could borrow whatever was in this room when she visited. It was a similar arrangement to the one she had at the monastery and at Grissom Academy when she went to help Jack teach her students. Since she didn’t own anything and was merely borrowing it didn’t break the code, technically, because deep down she knew these things had been gathered for her and her alone although considering the workout clothes were all Alliance military and in lots of different sizes it could be said it wasn’t just for her.

“I hope your room isn’t too comfortable,” Jane told her.

“It is sufficient, and thank you for allowing me use of it whenever I am on Thessia.” Samara remarked, generally she would stay at one of the temples, generally Athame’s, but it also came with a lot of awe and fear from the acolytes who lived in the temple. Both of which she never experienced around Jane and Liara, they treated her like family and she enjoyed that.

“So… we are going to the beach either later today or tomorrow, will you come?” Jane asked.

Samara grinned, “Yes, when I was asked as to why I was here and how long I would be staying I told them I was having… a vacation. They were surprised but when they realised it coincided with what you planned; they were less cautious.”

“And Falere, will she be able to come?” Jane asked, not too sure if restrictions were placed on her.

“Falere will be where I am, one of the conditions which allowed her to come she is not allowed to be more than 20 metres from me, she has a tracker and everything.” Samara answered as she gestured to the black band around Falere’s ankle, a similar one was around Samara’s. She had not been happy when they told her this was the only way they would allow Falere to come but Falere just agreed to their request and since Falere didn’t protest it, Samara could not.

“Good… after everything she’s been through, she deserves a little fun and a chance to prove that she can be a functional member of society if they just gave her a chance.” Jane told her. “I heard that they are allowed to take university courses on line now.”

Samara smiled, “I believe that was Liara and you were behind the Matriarchs allowing them to try a new way.” Jane grinned not denying her and Liara’s part in slightly improving the plight of Ardat-Yakshi who chose to live within the rules imposed by their own code.

Falere and Jack finished their spar and both panted even as they presented to Karin to look them over. Samara stood and gave Jane a look which essentially meant you’ve rested enough, Jane got to her feet and together they walked into the field and Tali quickly put the shields up.


	6. Chapter 6 ~ Fun time at the beach

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 6 ~ Fun time at the Beach

Jane groaned as she got out of the sky car to see the last person she wanted to see, they hadn’t gotten to the beach the day before because Jack had brought her tattoo gear and had spent all of the afternoon inking whoever wanted it. Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, one of the small number of reporters who had managed to follow them. “Supreme Fleet Commander… humanity demands to know…”

Jane crossed her arms and met Khalisah’s eyes, pleased at least that she hadn’t used her full name and title. “Khalisah… I am on a much-deserved holiday.” She told the reporter firmly and silently she wished that Emily had survived the Reaper War, she was much nicer to deal with than this woman. While Jane distracted her, Aria and Thea slipped pass the security who had the job of keeping the reporters away from them. “What do you demand to know?”

“Your wedding date? Have you set it…”?

Jane held up her hand, “We only got engaged two days ago Khalisah… we haven’t had time to sit down and begin to plan. Although we did agree on one thing concerning our wedding.”

“And what was that?” Khalisah asked quickly as she noticed that everyone else had already gone ahead.

“That Miranda Lawson was going to be our wedding planner.” Jane said before she waved and slipped behind the security.

“What am I doing now?” Miranda complained having heard her name being mentioned.

“Help us plan our wedding,” Jane remarked, hoping that Miranda wouldn’t get angry about not really being asked. The excitement on Miranda’s face relieved her fear but she also knew she had to put limits. “Not today, or tomorrow, after our break.”

“And as much as we would prefer not to make a big fuss of this or make it political, we know that is impossible… maybe we should have…” Liara started to say but Garrus gave her a shove.

“Don’t you dare… I already warned Jane about eloping, Tali will kill you both if you don’t include her.” Garrus told her.

Liara sighed.

“Hey… don’t think about it for the moment, just enjoy your break.” Miranda told her. “I’ll make some lists; get some ideas and we can go over it later.”

Liara and Jane nodded and watched as Miranda went to walk over to Ashley who was talking to her sister Oriana. Oriana’s ship had to divert to answer a distress call so she hadn’t made it until after Liara dragged Jane up to their room to celebrate their engagement. “I’ve been asked to help plan the wedding.” She told the other two women who squealed and put their heads together to begin to plan.

“Oi! Holiday… cut it…” Jane told the trio.

“Last one in is a rotten egg.” James called and suddenly all the humans had stripped down to bathers and were racing at the water. For the most part Asari beaches were nude, Jane however had found one of the few beaches that wasn’t a nude beach for this outing.

“Huh?” Aria asked Liara as she was the one around humans the most. The other races not human had also turned to her.

Liara shrugged, “Human custom… maybe?”

Jane ran smoothly into the water and then dived in, she was below for several moments before she surfaced and shook her head, sending a mass of water from her hair.

“How much water does it retain,” Thea asked as her eyes focused on Jane who ran her hands through her hair dislodging more water.

“Heaps,” Liara explained as she took off her dress to show the black bikini she was wearing. Samara and Falere simply removed the N7 shirts they had been wearing, their bathers were clothes they had borrowed from Jane which was more Alliance military surplus. Like all those who severed with Jane Samara had an N7 tattoo, a gift from Jack and proof of her oath to Jane as well as indication of her own designation as her id number sat below Jane’s. Samara’s was on her back directly above her heart, a place which was for the most part hidden.

Garrus was wearing causal clothes, he was setting up a shade and chair for Tali and himself as he wasn’t a swimmer. Krogan children were being watched by Bakara and two others as they played in the sand and shallow water. Wrex was with little Mordin collecting shells and brightly coloured rocks which she carefully put into the bucket she carried.

Thea and Aria both stripped down to bathers, Thea wore a white bikini which she had to source, at the same time she sourced Aria’s which was black and made up of strategic strips of fabric. Eezo and Shep were playing with the humans in the water. Once Jane had cooled off a little, she ran back up the beach and started to help setting up blankets, shades, chairs and coolers with drinks and food in them. Once that was done the Asari watched as Jane, Ashley and James setup poles which they strung a net up between.

Joker sat in a chair nearby, he was content to watch, besides Edi was stretched out beside him in a sexy bikini, he didn’t need to be anywhere else.

Jane joined the Asari, “Anyone up for some volley ball?”

Thea handed Aria the sunscreen in her hand. “What’s volley ball?” Aria asked.

“A game played at beaches.” Jane explained as she grabbed the ball from under Joker’s chair. “Ash!” Jane called, tossed the ball up and served it to her. Ashley moved, held her arms together, inner forearms facing up and used the dig move to pass the ball to James, who hadn’t been expecting it dived for the ball and missed it.

Aria was interested but Thea had silently asked her to rub sunscreen on her, she would never miss the opportunity to feel up her bondmate.

“Maybe after… but you will have to teach me how to play.” Aria told her.

“Biotics are not allowed!” James called as he pushed himself up and ran to get the ball.

Jane was a little surprised, “But Aria… there are rules you would have to follow.” She teased.

Aria went to throw what was in her hand at Jane but Thea cleared her throat reminding Aria of her priority. Jane had already moved to dodge away.

“Jane…” Liara called and Jane turned to her. “Come here before you get burnt.” She told her as she grabbed a tube of sunscreen designed for humans. Liara was kneeling on a blanket so Jane went to sit before. “No, you need to be dry for this to work, so,” she grabbed the other tube of sunscreen which was designed for Asari and handed it to Jane. “Me first.”

Jane smiled and took the tube and went behind Liara, she kissed Liara’s neck as she squeezed out a good amount, once she had it, she released her kiss, spread some of the cream across her shoulders then started to work it in.

“Hey Ash… do you need some sunscreen?” Jane called.

Ashley smiled as James and her tussled for the ball, they paused and Ashley blushed a little. “Um… we already applied it.” She explained as she stole the ball from her husband and ran off with it.

Thea snorted in amusement. “Explains why it took so long for them to join us.” She remarked and the others laughed.

Aria nodded her head to Wrex to get the others to look at him as he tended to his daughter. “Wrex is… what’s the human term… whipped.”

Jane chuckled, “Yeah… the term is whipped.”

“But it is hilarious to watch.” Liara remarked as her eyes glanced looking for the adolescent Krogan, “GRUNT DON’T EAT THAT!” She yelled as he was about bite the Frisbee which had been brought for Eezo and Shep to play with, both in fact were prowling around him, waiting for him to throw it.

Jane moved to look over at Grunt, “Ash… can you show Grunt how to throw that before the varren decide to attack him.” She wondered for a moment where Miranda and Jack were but they were in the water hugging. Legionnaire had also come and was currently watching a little crustacean doing whatever it was doing.

Javik had left shortly after the award ceremony, he had been asked to join a team on Ilos and since there was a chance, slim as it was that there could have been survivors. He had chosen to go, as their Prothean expert, they had also wanted Liara to go but Liara had declined, hoping that Javik would finally find a reason to keep existing. Zaeed had stayed at the estate with the promise to disable all of the traps he and Garrus had put together before they got back.

Ashley nodded, “sure thing Skipper.” She answered before she moved over to the Krogan and took the Frisbee from him and started to show him how to throw it. Every now and again she would always refer to Jane as Skipper, she was the only one who could get away with it, much like Tali was the only one who could get away with calling her Captain.

“I have ordered pizzas,” Edi called over as she rolled onto her stomach.

“Do you want sunscreen?” Joker asked Edi.

“The skin is artificial…” Edi began but paused as she realised it wasn’t about protecting her skin but about letting him feel her up in a socially acceptable way. “It won’t hurt.” She finished and Joker grabbed the tube he had brought and he straddled her behind.

Just as it became Jane’s time to have sunscreen smeared all over her back there was a disturbance, everyone near to it turned to see if a reporter was being an idiot.

“Shit,” Thea glanced to Samara who was learning to play volley ball with her daughter. Then turned back to the Asari who had pushed through the security and they let her, not even trying to stop her.

Sensing something wrong Jane stood and went to intercept, Thea also stood hoping to help as did Aria although she doubted, she would be able to help. Samara noticed what was going on and moved to stand before her daughter.

“Hi… excuse me…” Jane said as the Asari ignored her and only came to a stop before Samara. Jane moved to stand next to Samara.

“Justicar Phora,” Samara greeted.

Jane turned to Samara surprised by the slight hint of disgust in her tone. She then suddenly remembered where she had seen the name before, there was a letter in the ruined monastery which spoke of her… methods when bringing in Ardat-Yakshi, that she was… too rough.

“Justicar Samara.” The other Asari replied. “There is an Ardat-Yakshi not living…”

“She has permission from the matriarchs to be here.” Samara told her before she could continue.

“She is an Ardat-Yakshi, she belongs in the monastery.” Justicar Phora declared. “The code demands it.”

“She is visiting for a week, which has been allowed for centuries.” Samara explained.

“I see you have forgotten the code since you swore the Third Oath of Subsumation to Shepard.” Justicar Phora taunted.

“I have not, since I swore an oath to Shepard, I protected humans from Collectors who were slaughtering innocents by the thousands. I fought in the war and the Battle of London, helped to bring down Harbinger, the greatest of all evil. When the war ended… I hunted down all the registered Ardat-Yakshi still alive and moved them to the monastery. I protected refugees from bandits and pirates on more than one occasion, protected our people while they started to rebuild, dug bodies out of ruins and buried them.” Samara told her proudly. “What have you done recently?” she asked back daringly.

Jane turned to Samara surprised, she also knew that Samara had held a lecture at Grissom academy, did four N7 missions for Hackett and two missions with her. “Damn Samara do you sleep?” Jane asked which caused her lips to twitch.

“I did tell you I needed a break,” Samara told her, her eyes not once leaving Justicar Phora.

Thea walked over and typed for a few moments bringing up all the information about Falere’s visit, she moved to give Justicar Phora a clear view of the screen. Justicar Phora stepped back and away from the screen without reading it.

“They should be locked up and left in the monastery, allowing them…” Justicar Phora started to say.

“Falere is innocent,” Jane told her firmly.

“She is Ardat-Yakshi!” The other Justicar yelled much to the shock of the other Asari and Jane. Justicars were known for the control of their emotions.

“Yes, she is an Ardat-Yakshi… doesn’t mean she is not innocent… she has never fed… never taken a life.” Jane told the other Justicar. “She underwent a dangerous operation, willingly, to remove her ability to meld, not to remove temptation, she was never tempted. But to give those like her a chance to be productive members of your society, rather than be the well-known but dirty dark secret.”

Justicar Phora turned to Jane, “Are you getting between me and my quarry?” she asked in a deadly tone.

“Are you really going to break the code more than you already have?” Jane asked back. “I know about you, Falere isn’t shivering because you are a Justicar, but because it is you, because other Ardat-Yakshi told her about how you ‘convinced’ them to come with you. How you traumatised them, broke them. Before the war started Matriarch Gallae was beginning to launch an investigation into your methods.”

“Lies!” Justicar Phora declared.

Jane pulled up her omni-tool and did some typing, glad for a moment that when on mission all files she recovered or scanned were saved to an external source as well as her tool. She transferred the communication to Thea.

_Jethra,  
I had the new girl put in a holding chamber. The Justicar who brought her to us, Justicar Phora, said she had trouble "convincing the prisoner coming to the Monastery was necessary." This may explain why the girl lashed out at her guards. She's lucky Phora wasn't here for that--the Justicar's code would have demanded an execution.  
I'll question some other Justicars on the level of coercion Phora's permitted to use by the Code. This isn't the first time her "captures" arrived here terrified out of their wits, but it will certainly be the last.  
Matriarch Gallae_

Thea frowned as she read the note and then transferred it to Samara then to the Matriarchs and to the other Justicars. “Jane has proof of her claim.” Thea told her and almost sighed in relief when noticed several matriarchs come forward, they came with yet another Justicar. This Justicar had simply stopped by to drop off some information and would have left had the call not come. It was strange however for so many Justicars to be on Thessia at one time, but no one would question it.

Justicar Nhiami was frowning as she read through the file, she had been given on Falere, wondering why her fellow Justicar was insistent on getting this Ardat-Yakshi back to the monastery considering Falere had an impeccable record. They moved forward to join the group, the matriarchs were easy to identify, Janara; the matriarch in charge of Athame’s temple and the person who had the most contact with Justicars. Ralni; a member of the Matriarchs council and Kaylama who was also a member of the Matriarchs council.

“Justicar Phora, Justicar Samara.” Justicar Nhiami greeted, her eyes glanced to Jane for a moment but she didn’t acknowledge that the two knew each other as she was one of the people Samara had recommended to teach Jane.

“Justicar Nhiami,” Samara greeted, Phora just nodded her head. “Matriarchs.” Samara added as she nodded her head to them.

“Good work on that mission you did for Admiral Hackett, I have more information concerning that if you could pass it on to him.” Nhiami remarked and Samara simply tilted her head in acknowledgement. Nhiami then turned her attention to Phora. “Falere has permission to be here, under the code you have no right to come, harass and take her.” Nhiami told her firmly.

“She is an Ardat-Yakshi… a monster.” Phora declared.

Nhiami’s lips thinned a little in anger. “I do not wish to fight you sister, but the girl is obeying every rule placed upon her for her visit. Samara has sworn to kill her…”

“Her daughter!” Phora corrected.

Nhiami paused, she didn’t want to be callous but she had to be in this moment, “It did not stop her from killing Morinth, it will not stop her now.” Nhaimi’s omni-tool buzzed, she paused to read her new notification. “Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Phora… your… prejudice… has been noted on more than one occasion. If she breaks the rules she will be dealt with, until then, leave her alone.”

“They are monsters…” Phora stated.

“Not all of them.” Jane told her firmly.

Phora turned to glare at Jane, Nhaimi placed a hand on Phora’s shoulder to restrain her. “You will not win a fight against Shepard, not if she fights seriously. You will die… this I know for a fact; I also know that her moral compass is…”

Phora pointed to Aria then to Jack, “She associates with known criminals.”

Nhaimi glanced to the two indicated women, “Aria has never broken the law in citadel space that I am aware of, there are no laws in Terminus Space except for don’t fuck with Aria. I believe the Councillor is the only one who gets away with breaking that one.” There were a few chuckles about that as Thea blushed. “As for Jack, as much as she hates to admit it, Shepard reformed her and her crimes were forgiven in recognition for her efforts in bringing about the end of the Reapers. Since the fall of the Collectors she has not broken a single citadel law.” Nhaimi told her firmly.

“Hey… you weren’t fighting seriously yesterday?” Aria asked Jane.

“Neither were you, seriously means lethal intent.” Jane replied but her eyes never left Phora’s.

“As I was saying, her moral compass isn’t like ours, but she lives by it as vehemently as we do ours.” Nhaimi finished.

“She has also proven that she will die and come back for those she considers family,” Janara added, she had watched some of the released footage and seen how Jane treated Falere, like she was a member of her large weird family. “Justicar Phora, you are treading a dangerous line between obeying the code and not. I suggest you go and contemplate whether you can continue as a Justicar with your prejudice.”

“You…” Phora turned to the Matriarch.

“I know your past… know what drove you to becoming a Justicar… but you cannot let that colour your actions, blind you to the truth.” Janara stated.

“The Reapers…”

“Are no more… I died and came back to make sure of that.” Jane told her firmly, it wasn’t until later that she learnt that her heart had stopped again for about five seconds before starting back up again while Karin worked. “And even then, the Ardat-Yakshi are not to blame for what the Reapers did to them, they were violated, twisted until they were no longer alive let alone in control of their actions.”

“Your arguments are hollow,” Ralni declared. “Let the child try to prove you wrong and if she proves you right… well that is not your problem to deal with.”

“It’s mine,” Jane stated firmly, she would not let Samara kill another of her daughters. “But she won’t fail.”

“Last time Phora, time to go,” Nhaimi told her firmly, “I am sure Matriarch Lidanya will allow you passage if you leave now.”

Phora shrugged off Nhaimi’s restraining hand.

“Go with peace sister and please consider our words.” Janara told her.

“We won’t be safe until they are all either dead or locked up.” Phora stated.

“That is not your decision to make or enforce.” Samara told her firmly but Phora was already storming off. She turned to the Matriarchs to thank them. Jane however went and gave Falere a comforting hug as the woman finally released a breath, she didn’t know she was holding.

Jane barely noticed that the Matriarchs were a little startled about her hugging Falere but they had to admit that she needed the comfort. Jane held her for long moments until Falere’s breathing finally evened out, she pulled back and looked Falere in the eyes as she finally got control of her emotions. “You okay now.” Jane asked as she watched the young (for an Asari) woman. Falere nodded in thanks to Jane, Jane wrapped an arm firmly around her and pulled her forward to stand between her mother and her.

“I am sorry you were forced to come here,” Jane apologised.

Janara waved away her apology. “thank you for bringing Phora’s actions to our attention.”

“If she is truly abusing the code for personal vengeance… then she can no longer be a Justicar.” Nhaimi said firmly before she gave Jane a small smile. “Forgive me for not saying hello.”

Jane waved it off, “I guessed you had your reasons.”

Nhaimi turned to Samara, “And please forgive me for my harsh words concerning… Morinth.”

“There is nothing to forgive,” Samara told her firmly.

“Am I going to have a problem with her?” Jane asked.

Nhaimi frowned slightly, “you have done nothing wrong, as long as you continue to do nothing wrong…”

“She might choose to use a crime I have been forgiven for in justification of her actions,” Jane told her.

Recognition sparked in Nhaimi’s eyes, “The Alpha relay incident.” She stated and Jane nodded. “Firstly… you were a Spectre at the time, allowed to use extreme methods to protect council space. Justicars understand that in some instances, innocents can be rolled up in our actions. You tried to save them, tried to warn them, that works in your favour.”

Jane nodded, she no longer felt the crushing guilt she had when she thought about all those lives lost, it had taken time, and counselling but she was finally starting to work through her issues. She had also forgotten that Nhaimi had been a Spectre before she had decided to leave the life and become a Justicar so had a very good idea of both sides.

“Besides… I didn’t lie… Phora wouldn’t last five minutes against you if you fought seriously. I suggest however that if she does come, do not hesitate to kill her, she won’t leave you with another option.” Nhaimi finished.

Jane nodded taking the advice.

“Both of you,” Nhaimi turned to Samara who also nodded.

Janara turned to Falere, “when you have returned to the monastery and when you are ready, can you tell me what others told you about Phora.”

Falere nodded, “I can do that… it isn’t pretty.” She told them, she hesitated for a moment, “The geth found journals in the ruins, a few belonged to the girls she brought in, perhaps they wrote of their experience as well.”

Janara gave her kind look, “Copies are fine for now.”

“And if that old space cow shows up at the monastery, let me know, more so if she brings in an Ardat-Yakshi.” Jane told her firmly and Falere nodded.

“Us too please,” Nhaimi added as she gestured to herself and Janara as she gave Falere hers and Janara’s contact information, “She will be informed that she is not to handle Ardat-Yakshi cases anymore.”

Falere nodded again, a lot more relieved now that she knew no one else would be subjected to what she heard.

“So, what are you doing now?” Jane asked.

“I will have to wait for another ship to take me back out.” Nhaimi explained.

“Stay, have a little fun with us. You can borrow some clothes.” Jane told her and then included the other Matriarchs.

Janara smiled, “Love to… where is Aethyta?”

“Running an errand, she’ll be here soon.” Jane told her and turned to Ralni who was typing on her omni-tool.

“Done,” Ralni remarked with a smile, “I invited a friend… only way I could get out of the meeting… was that okay.”

Jane smiled, “Fine…”

“Jane… come here before you burn.” Liara called, she had stayed back to let Jane deal with it even as she brought up the shadow broker network and looked for everything concerning Phora. Once she had that information, she would pass it on if need be. Jane smiled and went to her love.

Falere picked up the ball and went back to learning about volley ball. Samara joined her with a nod of her head to the others.

Janara frowned a little, now that Jane wasn’t near, she felt safe to question Nhaimi, “Jane is really that strong? To take out a Justicar?”

“When she puts her mind to it… her will… is indominable, you saw the battle of London footage? Watched as she walked into the transfer device? Watched the sparring match between her and Samara on the Normandy?” Nhaimi asked and got nods, everyone in the galaxy had seen that footage at least once. “She was grievously injured, her right knee damaged, could barely breathe because of broken ribs, didn’t stop her completing her mission. That sparring session, happened only days after being released from med-bay.”

“So, she didn’t lie when she said she died and came back to defeat the Reapers.” Ralni remarked.

Thea shook her head, “Not quite… that happened after, while she was on the Normandy and while Karin was working on her. During the crucible wave.” She then took a deep breath as she watched her bondmate go and learn how to play volleyball. “How much trouble am I in?” she asked the three Matriarchs.

Kaylama grinned, “Not as much as you would think,” she said finally speaking, she was generally reserved, considering everything before making a decision, she had come purely because she had been in the right place at the right time and now she was truly glad she had come, being seen with Jane in a friendly setting was a big thing. “There was some concern but Sparatus called and sent through documents that showed you had revealed it to them and they weren’t concerned, your mental barriers were strong as was their security. There is a small group who want a confidence vote but they are being cautious.”

Thea frowned, “the crones,” she muttered.

“The what?” Ralni asked.

Thea blushed a little, “A human term for an old woman or women who are disagreeable, malicious or sinister in manner. But please don’t tell them I call them that.” She explained.

There were some good-humoured chuckles, “It is an apt term for them though.” Ralni told her, “Crone… humans have such a fascinating language.”

“Yes,” Kaylama agreed, “they are still sore about you telling Jane about the Beacon…”

“Our people were dying… we should have told her the moment we thought it could have helped regardless of the consequences.” Thea told them.

“Hey… we were in the minority in that matter.” Ralni reminded her, they all had voted in favour of telling Jane each and every time it had been put to the vote but their votes were outnumbered.

Thea nodded, “So… why are they being cautious then.” She mused to herself.

Nhaimi gave her a disbelieving look, “come now… they don’t want to be behind Jane saying… what’s the human saying…” she thought for a moment, “right… Fuck this shit, and moving to the Terminus systems or just dropping out altogether.”

The other two nodded in agreement. “That and they are also concerned about what dirt Liara might have on them.” Kaylama added.

Thea grinned, “She is a very good information broker, she gave me a taste of what she has on them.” she passed the three matriarchs what Liara had given to her. They had also gone over the rest of what she had while Jack inked Liara.

Ralni’s eyes went wide once she read the damning information, “This is a taste?”

Thea nodded, “I’ve seen some of what Liara has on them. If they come after me… she will give it to Westerlund. She has enough to bury them.”

Kaylama smiled outright, “We will give them a… friendly warning… as well as the other Matriarchs, perhaps that faction should… retire.”

“They might not have a choice, since the establishment of the new Matriarch council they are now in the minority and those who side with or are of the same mind as Aethyta now have more prominence.” Ralni explained.

“I just heard my name,” Aethyta remarked. “And I found her trying to get pass the security.” She gestured to the Asari beside her. Irissa gave an annoyed look to Ralni, “You invited me but didn’t tell me about this,” she accused trying to keep her voice down.

“Irissa,” Thea greeted the new woman as Aethyta scanned the group then started to laugh as she watched Wrex tend his daughter.

A camera drone whizzed pass them to record something new startling the others, Thea however was kind of used to it floating around so had gotten into the habit of ignoring it. Besides Diana tended to make sure the camera was unobtrusive so generally you didn’t know you were being recorded.

“Shit,” Ralni remarked alarmed, they were being quite candid with each other.

“Sorry to startle,” Diana told the group as she paused beside them. “I didn’t record anything after Falere and Samara left you and Jane has veto, erase and scrub power of everything I record… isn’t that right councillor?” Diana told her before she walked off to follow her camera.

Thea blushed, Liara wasn’t the only one Jack had inked yesterday, Diana had gotten some accidental footage of that as well as some compromising footage of her with her bondmate. Jane had scrubbed it the moment Diana released she had it. Everyone turned to Thea. “She might have accidently caught Aria and I…”

Aria leant in and said in a sexy but low tone, “Call it what it was… we were fucking in Liara’s office, the door was slightly ajar.” She said before she walked over to get a drink.

Irissa tried not to laugh.

“Yeah… that’s not the funny part,” Thea told them, “We were reviewing in the lounge room, in front of everyone.”

The others gasped but Aethyta laughed, “Don’t be embarrassed, it was awesome to watch, pity Jane scrubbed it.”

“Besides it isn’t that scandalous…” Nhaimi remarked, “Councillor embraces eternity with bondmate.”

Aethyta went to open her mouth but stopped when she noticed Thea’s panicked look. “Fine… I won’t tell them.”

Thea doubted it but for the moment she had to trust her.

“Now, Jane offered for me to borrow some clothes,” Nhaimi stated.

Thea nodded, “We brought spares, Samara and Falere said they didn’t need it but Jane told them a human saying, better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it.” She walked them over to the setup, there was a changing tent but she was sure Nhaimi would have had no qualms about stripping naked before everyone.

“PIZZA!” Grunt called as he carried a stack of pizzas and put them on the table before snaring two for himself and went to go find a spot to eat them.

*

Once the pizza was devoured Ashley, James, Jack, Jane, Oriana and Miranda demonstrated how to play volleyball. Samantha had been roped into keeping score, although she did it from the safety of her large floppy hat and a shaded seat. The teams were simple, Ashley, James and Oriana verses Jane, Jack and Miranda.

The game was closely fought, no team getting too far ahead before the other team levelled the score. Since there was no headbutting allowed Wrex had chosen a nice sunny place to fall asleep in, his daughter resting on his chest. The three other children he and Bakara had brought with them were also napping but near their mother who was watching the game with interest.

Steve called out a teasing taunt as James missed a shot, Jane’s team was two more points away from winning the match, James shot him a look as he got back into position.

“It looks like a fun game,” Nhaimi stated.

Falere nodded, looking forward to her chance to play but it had made sense to let the humans show them how the game was played so that they had a general idea and since the ones interested in playing were athletic, they could grasp it easier now.

“So Falere, perhaps you can answer some questions,” Janara asked.

Falere turned to the other woman and frowned a little.

“Not about that, about how the rebuilding is going, I’ve heard it is going in a new direction?” Janara explained.

Falere nodded, “Yes, there are going to be changes.”

“Have you decided who is going to be in charge and how it will run?” She asked, Jane had asked for some changes and considering how few known Ardat-Yakshi were left they had decided to let them try a new direction, within reason.

“I was chosen, still don’t understand why but I accepted it.” Falere explained.

Liara placed a hand on her shoulder, “Believe it or not, Jane was very content to just follow orders, being put in charge of saving the galaxy… didn’t sit well with her, she didn’t like making the big decisions, but she did… had to be me, someone else might have gotten it wrong… her words…”

“Actually… I believe those are Mordin Solus’s words,” Bakara corrected. “But it doesn’t surprise me that Jane uses it, she seems to take a little from everyone she calls family and weaves it into her identity.” Liara nodded, she had noticed it as well, Jane used to say god, now she says goddess or spirits.

“And yet… she managed to do the impossible even though she didn’t feel comfortable doing it.” Thea added.

“She just did her best, as long as you do that things will either work out or not.” Samara added.

Falere nodded, “We are going in a different direction, not so much a monastery but more like a community. We will be able to study our own interests, research, Ossri would like to research her own condition, try to learn if there is a way to diagnose and treat it before the child is born.”

“Admirable goal,” Janara remarked.

“She has a sister, who isn’t Ardat-Yakshi but the chance of her giving birth to one… isn’t known, she wants to try to help her sister, to continue the family line because they are the last of it and her sister currently refuses to have children or try.” Falere explained.

Janara nodded in understanding, “If you like I can get you any research others might have done.”

Falere nodded, “That would be appreciated even if Ossri will probably confirm all the data first before moving on. At least she won’t be starting blind. The Geth who created…” she touched the external parts of the implant which turned off her ability to meld. “We named her Lisran, is just as interested and is making sure the lab being built will be up for all the research she wants to do.”

“So, labs?” Janara asked.

Falere nodded, “We are trying to make it into a place where everyone can find a way to be more than just an Ardat-Yakshi. Art rooms, work rooms, a library, media room, a gym, gardens, even blank space so that we can make rooms as we need them.”

Janara frowned, “A gym.”

“Ghilra, she came from a different setup… she lived on an island with her fellow Ardat-Yakshi, she had spent most of her adolesce learning to fight, to become a commando until she got her diagnosis. Training helped her when she went to live there and she firmly believes that if her sisters were trained, then more than just her might have survived when the Reapers came. She now insists we all train daily, cardio and combat.” Falere explained. “She was a little in awe when Samara…”

“Come now,” Nhaimi cut in, “your mother’s oath to Jane, is until she dies or she kills her, means she is slightly free of the code, you can call her what she is… your mother.”

Falere gave her a small smile, “True, she was in awe when my mother joined us during our morning training and even gave her and us pointers on some of our skills. Moose…” she paused when she noticed confused looks. “Humans in Canada named a Geth that, apparently there is a funny story about it but he refuses to tell us. Anyway, he makes sure we are weapon savvy, and is working on building discrete defences when we all protested about the bunker he wanted to create.”

Nhaimi grinned, “You have gotten close to the Geth who are helping you rebuild.”

Falere nodded, “My… mother told me about Legion, about learning to trust him, about some of the weird things he would do or the questions he would ask when she warned me that Geth were coming to help me rebuild and by the time I met Moose and the others I had been alone in the monastery for a while so… I was happy to have someone in front of me to talk and interact with all day long. Instead of just whenever my mother could call.”

“I am sorry I left you, and that I couldn’t call more often.” Samara told her.

Falere shook her head, “No… don’t be… you had an important role in the war and if Jane had failed, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.”

Janara suddenly looked for the camera, wondering where it was. Diana was near them and noticed her glancing. “As interesting as I find your conversation, my followers are more interested in that.” Diana told them while she pointed to the game. “And I don’t report that which I cannot prove.” She added just as Jack won the game.

Steve stood and laughed at James, “You can’t beat Shepard.” He taunted and James was suddenly after him, Steve bolted.

“So… humans’ verses Asari?” Jane asked.

“You aren’t allowed to play.” Aria told her as she stood and tapped both Samara and Falere who also got to their feet. Oriana jogged over, got water for the others and jogged back.

“What… why?” Jane complained.

“Because it won’t be fair if you never lose,” Aria explained.

“Yeah but you always cheat which should counter my never losing.” Jane replied.

Aria grinned, “I do, but I also want to beat you humans at your own game.”

Mordin came running between them having woken and stealthily got off her father Bakara went to get up. Quick as lightening Jane caught her and stilled her, she knelt and held Mordin close to her body. “Hey… you want to know what human children would do if they caught their parent asleep on a beach?”

Mordin nodded a little eager to play a prank on her father.

Jane turned on her omni-tool and brought up images of human males buried under shaped sand. “It is called a merman. The true trick however is to do it without waking them. think you can do that?” Jane asked and Mordin nodded. “Let’s get you a bucket and spade.” Jane told her and together they went to the toys and found what they needed. Mordin then ran off and started to carefully use her bucket to bury her father in wet sand. Diana noticed it and smiled, after typing on her omni-tool a second smaller camera drone came out of a duffel and started to unobtrusively follow and watch little Mordin play her prank even as a second match of volley ball started up with Aria, Samara and Falere verses Jack, Miranda and Ashley.

Jane sat before Liara and laid back, resting her head on her lap. Liara smiled and started to run her fingers through Jane’s messy red locks which had fascinated her the moment she saw it. Jane closed her eyes in pleasure and dozed.

Jane snoozed through the first half of the match, she suddenly jerked awake and slightly up to glance around, tense and alert. Liara placed a hand on her shoulder to encourage her to lay back down which Jane did. Jane’s nightmares had slowly become a once or twice a week thing instead of two or three times a night.

Liara had a general idea of the reactions she had to each of her reoccurring nightmares, this one was a Harbinger nightmare. She added pressure to her fingers, dragging her nails against Jane’s scalp causing her eyes to close in pleasure causing her entire body to go lax. “It’s okay, we killed him,” Liara told her.

“I know,” Jane told her as Liara bent down and kissed her forehead. Jane reached for Liara’s free hand and linked their fingers together.

No one remarked on the incident, if Jane had come through all of what she had been through in the last couple of years without some mental scars they might have questioned her ability to feel. Jane felt a hand touch her, she turned to it and followed it to Thea. “Same or better?” she asked in friendly concern.

Jane considered her for several moments, she had taken Thea’s advice for a councillor and they had been working through her problems. “In some ways better in some still the same.” Jane replied.

Thea nodded in understanding.

“Who is winning?” Jane asked.

“Even at the moment,” Liara answered.

Jane glanced to see where Mordin was, at some point in her nap the little Krogan had managed to rope Legionnaire into helping her pile sand on Wrex. Noticing that Jane was awake Legionnaire walked over.

“Shepard Commander,” he greeted, she had tried to get him to call her by her first name but he refused. “Mordin wanted you to show me what you showed her.”

Jane typed on her omni-tool for a few moments and sent Legionnaire the images she had shown Mordin. Legionnaire studied the images as he went back to join Mordin.

“Jane, the watermelons and fruit is here,” Edi called. Jane released Liara and rolled onto her knees, she gave Liara a quick kiss before she got to her feet and went over to Edi to help prepare the fruit.

Legionnaire gestured Mordin to him as he had prepared another bucket of damp sand. “You are Krogan, turning your father into half Krogan, half Fish, doesn’t feel right. Shouldn’t we turn him into a Maw-man, half Krogan half Thresher Maw.”

Mordin smiled and nodded, Legionnaire worked for a few moments and created an image to show her roughly what they should do. Mordin went to grab the bucket but Legionnaire grabbed it for her. Together they shaped and moved sand finally ready to make Wrex into a Maw-man.

Jane worked on a watermelon, slicing off the top and then she used a stick mass effect blender to liquefy the insides. “Hey Aethyta can you pass me the vodka?”

Aethyta joined her a few moments later with two bottles. “What are you making kid?”

“Vodka melon,” Jane replied as she upended both bottles into the large melon and left them there as a warning. Edi had made a stand with a towel Jane moved the melon over and inserted a tap, she gave the whole thing a mix and then left it.

“How do you want this cut?” Edi asked.

“Wrex, Grunt and Bakara will have half each so just in half for one, the other cut in half then the one half gets cut into five for the hatchlings. The rest cut in half and then slices about an inch thick. I will do the pineapple.” Jane explained.

Aethyta picked up a coconut and studied it, “this is edible?”

Jane nodded, “It’s a fruit.”

Aethyta tapped the hard shell and gave her an incredulous look. Edi took the fruit and used the back edge of her large knife to crack the shell and then pulled it open only just managing to catch the liquid from the inside in a bowl.

“You eat the flesh on the inside,” Edi explained as she broke a piece out and handed it to Aethyta who tried it.

“I know this flavour,” she remarked.

“Of course, you do,” Jane replied as she cleaned a pineapple before she sliced it into triangles and added it to the slices of watermelon Edi had prepared. Honey Dew and Rock melon joined the platter as the game finally finished, the Asari winning by a single point.

“You cheated,” Miranda declared even as they all walked over to get drinks.

“Prove it,” Aria taunted back with a pleased smirk on her face, no way in hell she was losing a game of anything, she had a reputation to maintain.

“Vodka melon?” Jane asked the drinkers in the group.

“A what?” Aria asked.

“Yes please,” Miranda, Jack, Samantha and Ashley replied. Jane served them all and smiled as Mordin waved her over. Jane went to join the little trouble maker and smiled at her. Her eyes then turned to Wrex and she only just kept from laughing out loud. They had decorated it with seaweed and shells, others came over to see it and everyone had to swallow their laughter.

“Hey let me be on your shoulders,” Jane asked Legionnaire who nodded and knelt, once she was up in the air Jane took several pictures, she noticed that it was probably Legionnaire behind the reason the Maw part of Wrex was pretty anatomically correct but the pretty shells, stones and seaweed, was all Mordin. Jane sent copies to everyone then tapped Legionnaire to get him to put her down. Bakara was doing her best not to laugh.

Jane took Mordin’s hand and walked her over to the table. The other four, all boys were waiting at the table. “Here you go,” Jane offered them each a chunk of melon. “The rind…” she watched as one of the boys took a big chunk, the rind included and munched happily on it. “FOODS UP!” Jane yelled, waking Wrex.

“Huh… what…” It took a few moments to realised he was buried up until his chest in decorated sand, a few moments later he had worked his way out and stormed over. “Who did that?” He pointed to the pile of sand, everyone, Legionnaire included pointed at Mordin who had taken a bite of her melon, she smiled at her father before she started to chew. “Who gave her the idea?” everyone pointed at Jane who just grinned.

“Papa Maw-man…” Mordin said before he could start anything, no one could keep a straight face anymore and started to laugh.

“Teach you for getting sun drunk and falling asleep instead of watching your daughter.” Bakara told him as she received her half of a melon. Grunt took his half and finally Wrex took his. Everyone came and helped themselves to the fruit on offer. Jane had even brought some fruit special for Garrus and Tali who had so far been content to just sit in the shade together.

Jane walked over to them, “How are you guys doing?” She asked as she squatted down.

“Running a slight fever,” Tali replied a little listlessly.

Garrus tightened his grip on her hand. “Another Geth downloaded into her suit today, the two geth are simulating dual infections.”

“You okay?” Jane asked concerned.

Tali nodded, “I’ve had worse. The infection I got from linking suits with you was worse and I had loaded up on antibiotics.” She explained.

“I hope you aren’t rushing this just so that you can kiss Garrus all the time.” Jane teased.

“And more,” Tali told her.

Garrus gave a cough in embarrassment.

“How about you guys go back to the T’Soni estate and watch a vid and relax.” Jane offered.

“Probably for the best,” Tali said as she slowly got to her feet, Garrus was on his feet much faster and steadying her.

“I’ll get our things you go to the sky car.” Garrus told her as he gathered a pad and a few little items.

Jane stood typing on her omni-tool. Garrus frowned as his tool buzzed, he turned to it then to Jane.

“Her all-time favourite vid, the extended edition.” Jane explained as she stood.

“Thanks, you’re a life saver.” Garrus told her.

“Pay attention… there is a line in the movie that you can totally steal when you propose.” Jane warned him quietly.

Garrus gripped her shoulder, “thanks I’ve been racking my brain about this for a while, I can’t do it as publicly as you did.”

“Yeah… I totally winged that.” She explained as he turned to the sky car, “Better get the missus home and make sure she’s drunk enough liquids. Take some fruit, hydrating and full of vitamins and minerals.” Jane suggested, Garrus ran to the table, grabbed the red bowl with several fruits, all he recognised as food they could both eat, in it and raced to the sky car.

Mordin walked over to Legionnaire and tugged on his hand, Legionnaire knelt and Mordin crawled up into his arms and made herself comfortable in the crook of his left arm. After sticking her thumb in her mouth, she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. Carefully Legionnaire stood and moved to a better spot before he sat carefully, not once jostling the little Krogan.

Diana grinned pleased as she realised her second camera had gotten the entire interaction and typed a few commands to get it to go back to sleep and wait. Jane went over to Liara and dragged her to her feet and then onto her shoulder and started to carry her to the water.  
“Jane… I can walk.” Liara protested and Jane let her take her feet only to scoop her up into a princess carry. Liara wrapped her arms around Jane’s neck as Jane continued to carry her to the water.

“You rebuilt her well,” Aria remarked to Miranda as they both were around the vodka melon.

Miranda glanced to Jane and shook her head, “No, that was all her before I got my hands on her.”

Ashley joined them and got the last of the alcoholic juice, “That and her pull up, push up and crunch competitions with James. They do it over holo calls, seeing who can do the most and if the other can match it, I gave up trying to keep up with them like… six months ago but… I’ve never been this ripped before so I do my best but I also try not to keep up.”

“Are you finished with that?” Grunt asked as he gestured to the now empty melon.

Ashley removed the bottles and the tap, lifted it and offered it to him, “All yours…”

Grunt took it and took a big bite; he grabbed a pineapple that Jane hadn’t sliced up and walked off.


	7. Chapter 7 ~ The wedding

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 7 ~ The wedding

Miranda lifted her omni-tool, checking her list she walked into the room Liara was using to prepare in. Six months after Jane had proposed Miranda had planned and put together this big day and it was much bigger than Miranda had originally thought as Liara had been right this had turned into something big and political. She was dressed in her ceremonial dress whites’ metals and ribbons decorated the left side of her jacket; a cutlass was sheathed at her side. When Liara had first seen the outfit, she had wondered about the swords but Miranda had just replied tradition. Liara was pacing looking at her own list. “Hey, you asked me to do this stop freaking out and get ready.”

Liara turned to Miranda and let out a breath, “Urg… how did this all become so complicated!”

“Breathe Liara,” Tali told her, she had wanted to attend the wedding without her enviro-suit but her immune system wasn’t quite up to it just yet, it was more likely that she would be able to attend her own wedding without her suit.

“Okay, what are your concerns?” Miranda put down her own omni-tool to focus on Liara.

“Everything…”

Miranda grabbed Liara’s arms to get her to focus on her. “Forget everything else… you just need to focus on one thing.”

Liara gave Miranda a concerned look.

Miranda smiled, “Jane is marrying you… binding herself to you… today…”

Liara released a breath and tried to relax, “I know that, Jane is the one thing I am not concerned about.”

“Then what is concerning you?” Tali asked as she reached for the dress Liara had chosen to wear.

“My Father causing a diplomatic incident,” Liara explained. “Wrex headbutting someone…”

“I won’t do that.” Wrex said as he walked in, he was dressed in the armour of his ancestors. “Bakara told me not to. Although I do have to headbutt Jane… its tradition.” Edi and Samantha walked in, both dressed in ceremonial whites and went to join the others.

Liara, Tali and Miranda walked into the bathroom to get her into the dress as Wrex made himself comfortable. He had chosen to be one of Liara’s attendants instead of one of Jane’s, Tali, Samantha and Edi were the others. Both had wanted to include all of their friends but Kasumi and Samara had both declined being in the wedding party but were still here as they wouldn’t miss this. Miranda and Jack had also declined, Jack because she didn’t like formal although she would be dressed in ceremonial dress whites like the others and Miranda because she was going to be too busy trying to keep the wedding running smoothly.

Miranda shut the door, “okay girls let’s get her ready.”

As a group they got Liara dressed and her makeup done. “Now… I am going to go and make sure your father isn’t causing a diplomatic incident and check on Jane, make sure she hasn’t fallen over and can’t get back up.”

Liara and the others laughed, like Jane they had an impressive amount of ribbons on their uniforms, each represented a medal, but Jane had more and some actual medals that didn’t have ribbons.

Miranda opened the bathroom door and let everyone out. Wrex was playing on his omni-tool but his eyes were drawn to Liara and he smiled. “Damn… Jane’s a lucky woman.”

“You are only figuring that out now?” Miranda asked.

“Oh… I am so telling Bakara,” Tali teased.

“Bakara knows already, I told her that Liara was the catch of the century, she disagreed and said Jane was, since Liara is one hundred and eleven, so not technically born this century like Jane was.” Wrex explained not bothered by Tali’s threat.

Miranda left the room and went to the one Jane was using. Garrus groaned and threw the tie down, “Why did I agree to wear this?” he complained.

Joker chuckled as Jane scooped up the tie.

“Stop being silly, you look dashing,” Ashley took the tie from Jane and started to tie it for him, they got tangled a few times as his mandibles got in the way but she eventually got the tie tied and tucked into his three piece suit, she then pinned a Rannoch lily to the lapel near some medals.

Jane went over to Grunt who was also wearing a suit and took care of his tie for him. James was checking his clothes before he stopped to check that his sword was shiny.

Miranda walked over to Jane and frowned, “Seriously… your hair is bugging me.” Grabbing a brush Miranda spent several minutes brushing Jane’s hair.

“You and your makeup fetish?” Jane questioned.

“I do not have…”

“Miri… when I woke up… I was wearing makeup… I doubt Jacob or that idiot did it, leaves you.” Jane told her.

“Whatever, try not to mess your hair up.” Miranda told her. “Is Jacob here?”

Jane nodded, “Yep, with the kid and his misses, they’ve gone to get seats. Steve is trying to keep people from arguing. Kasumi is… probably stalking someone and Samara is… with Matriarch Janara.” She explained.

Miranda nodded with a little frown, Janara was meant to be here days ago but a pretty major distress call had diverted them.

“Five minutes then take your places.” Miranda told the room before she walked out.

Jack was with Aethyta chatting, Miranda’s eyes scanned over her girlfriend enjoying the tattoos that peaked out from her uniform. If she had been asked a little over a year and a half ago that she would be here, that she would be living with the woman she loved, she wouldn’t have believed them but Jane’s remark about them just kissing already had caused her rethink a few things. Then when they were about to face Harbinger, she had to stop deluding herself, so she kissed Jack, it had caused heat to boil in her body and although Jack had told Jane she didn’t really swing that way, she couldn’t deny the spark. When they had survived and the crucible had worked, Jack had dragged her into her old XO office and gave her a kiss that confirmed for them both that there was a spark. It had quickly devolved into needy kisses and torn clothes until they both tumbled onto the bed and celebrated the fact they had won in deliciously primal way.

Jack seemed to sense that she was near and turned to her and gave her a smile.

“I would say get a room but we have a wedding to deal with first.” Aethyta told the pair who almost didn’t notice her. “Seriously stop eye fucking each other.”

Miranda turned to Aethyta and cleared her throat. “Five minutes, take your places please.”

Jack waited for Miranda to come abreast her before she grabbed her and gave her a heated kiss, once Miranda’s mind was slightly fuzzy Jack released her and slapped her arse. “Come on princess… don’t want the bride… brides… to melt down.”

The wedding was taking place on Earth, simply because Jane and Liara were doing their best to share their time between both worlds, but they also didn’t want to strain the still recovering worlds. Earth however had gone out of its way to prove it was ready and able to be the host of this wedding, heck even Mindoir had put its hand up to host the wedding, after all Jane had been born there but had been forced to concede that they weren’t recovered enough for the large event. Thessia had also been in the running and surprising Tuchanka but both had to bow out, Tuchanka didn’t have the facilities and Thessia was still removing debris. The only reason Earth was so far along was because they were used to rebuilding after wars and disasters, they had systems and procedures in place which allowed them to work efficiently, so much in fact, that some of the Geth had come to learn from them.

Miranda glanced around, her eyes landed on Aria who was beside Thea in a smart suit in the human style, David and Kahlee were seated together with Steven, the two men in ceremonial whites while Kahlee wore a magnificent dress. There were dignitaries from around the galaxy here for the wedding as like Liara had said, it had quickly become a big political deal, as much as the pair had hated it, they came to understand that they were public figures.

Miranda sat next to Jack, Kasumi decloaked in the spot beside her, she was dressed in an elegant dress which had a cloak and hood attached, keeping her face hidden, “Khalisah almost became a bloody smear, Aria was moments away from killing her.” She reported, “I crashed her drone and disrupted her extranet link, she then left Aria alone.”

Miranda sighed, “That woman has no danger sense. Thanks… the last thing we need is Aria killing someone, it wouldn’t bode well for Tevos let alone that there was a death at this wedding.”

“Want me to keep an eye on her?” Kasumi asked.

“She hasn’t got access to the venue, only outside it… we should be safe for now.” Miranda told her. Samara took her seat next to Kasumi as Janara stood on the platform with a human, Liara and Jane had decided to get married according to both cultures. The background music changed and everyone stood as one, when they had entered, they had each been given a little guide to what was going to happen during the wedding so that everyone was aware. Jeff and Edi were the first to walk down the aisle, both were in dress whites, they were followed by Samantha and James, then Ashley and Wrex and finally Tali and Garrus.

Once Tali and Garrus took their spots, Grunt walked out holding a soft pillow, which held wedding rings and bracelets on it. The tailor had worked long and hard to make sure Grunt’s suit fitted and it showed as the suit sat perfectly on him and even had been tailored to allow Grunt to strap a gun to his back. No, a weird thing as everyone had been allowed to bring a weapon ceremonial or not, considering the powerful biotics around the room it didn’t surprise anyone that Jane had made the concession.

Jane and Liara came down the aisle together, choosing the Asari way of the pair to be bonded, making their way to their future together. Liara was dressed elegantly in a traditional bonding dress whereas Jane wore ceremonial whites that was covered with medals and ribbons, looking every bit the Hero, the galaxy had needed to defeat the Reapers.

Once the pair were before the two officiants everyone sat to watch as Janara stepped forward.

She had been shown which bracelet belonged to which person not that she really needed to know but she had been curious. She indicated for them to take their partners bracelet; Grunt only just managed not to knock both off the silk pillow he carried. Jane tried not to smile as Grunt stepped back and knocked the flower arch which the human celebrant had managed to steady before it toppled over then with exaggerated care he got down off the podium until he was next needed. Many in fact chuckled or tried not to laugh at the comical antics of Grunt.

“Please place the bracelet on the left wrist,” Janara instructed, Liara placed Jane’s bracelet first and then Jane placed hers. Janara handed a purple ribbon to Liara. “Tie this ribbon to Jane’s bracelet,” Liara did as she was told and managed to make it seem easy. When it was Jane’s turn she fumbled for a few moments before she managed to tie the red ribbon.

Janara took both lengths and took a deep breath, when she was asked to bind them, she had to seriously think about it. It wasn’t that she had never done a binding before, just not one this significant, also, she had never done a binding blind before. Most preferred, herself included, to meld at least once with the bondmates, first as individuals and then as a couple to get a feel for the minds and biotic fields they were going to bind. She had not had the time for that since they were delayed.

She placed the ribbons on opposite hands to the ones they were attached to. Grabbing their wrists gently she moved until they clasped the others wrist, unlike normal Liara’s hands were bare today, allowing full contact. “I ask the universe to bless this binding of love, this couple who have stood together through good times and bad. Who have withstood the turbulent tides that tried to tear them apart?” Janara had tweaked the words to fit the couple before her, reminding them of what they had gone through to get here.

With practised moves she looped the ribbons around the clasped hands, crossing them. “Will you seek each other’s wisdom when times get hard?”

“We will,” Liara and Jane said together.

“Will you comfort each other when fear and grief comes into your life?” Another deft movement looped the ribbons, crossing them as they changed direction.

“We will.” They answered again.

“Will you help each other up and give each other strength.” Another loop, more crossing ribbons.

“We will.”

“Will you work together to build a future you both wish to have?” Janara did another set of loops and was one loop away from tying the two ends together.

“We will,” Jane and Liara said confidently.

“Will you grow together, age together and become wise together.” She did the final loop and brought the two ends together.

“We will,” they answered.

Janara tied the two ends together, she then lifted her hands and placed them on the back of Jane and Liara’s heads and pushed them forward until their foreheads touched. “Embrace eternity,” she told the pair, she gave them a moment before she joined them in the meld. Only many centuries of experience and training kept her from jerking away both mentally and physically.

 _Shit…_ she swore, trying to hold onto the meld. It took her a few moments to get used to both minds, Liara’s was scarred and seemed far older and wiser than her years. Jane’s… was indescribable, never had she been in a mind so… powerful… and what was with the gold.

 _Sorry…_ both minds told her.

_No… this is my fault for not melding with you guys before the ceremony, now… manifest your biotics please._

Both started to ripple with biotics, Jane’s were blue, Liara’s were closer to white. With a little more work than was normal she managed to merge their biotic fields. _Once I leave, count to ten then shred the ribbons._ She told them.

Janara pulled out of the meld and took a deep breath, she waited for the flare of biotics and the rendering of the ribbons. “Like our connections to all things, the bindings are intangible but as long as the pair are true to each other they are more binding than physical chains. The binding is complete.” She said before she stepped back and let the human take her spot. She left the stage and only just managed to make it out of sight before she started to lose control of her body. Samara had discretely left her seat and was ready to steady Janara when she lost all strength, Samara got her to a chair and sat her down.

“Never…” Janara said trying to explain.

“I should have warned you.” Samara told her.

“Have you been in their minds?” Janara asked with a shiver.

“Liara no,” Samara told her. “Jane’s… twice before the Omega relay, once after and once after the war ended.”

“Was it always…” Janara started to say but Samara shook her head.

“No… she became that way, was forced to become that way to just survive Harbinger,” Samara told her. “Are you going to be okay, I need to return.”

Janara nodded, “I should meditate… it might help.”

Samara returned to her seat, Miranda cast her a puzzled look but Samara shook her head slightly with a shrug Miranda went back to watching as the human officiate read the scrip Jane and Liara had chosen. Jack shifted a little beside her, she had been able to sit through the Asari binding ceremony but that was purely because she hadn’t seen one before, Miranda placed a hand on her knee and gave it a squeeze to get her to still.

Jack really didn’t like formal events, or formal clothes, the big lavish wedding was grating on her nerves, she firmly decided that when she and Miranda got married, they were eloping. She stopped fidgeting, lifting the hand on her knee she placed it in her own hand and gave it a good squeeze. Miranda frowned as something hard was pressing into her hand, she tilted her head down to see just as Jack released her hand and turned to her to watch her reaction. There, in the palm of her hand was a ring, it wasn’t fancy, it was simply a black titanium ring but Miranda understood what Jack had just done.

Miranda leant in putting her lips close to Jack’s ear. “Seriously… this is how you propose.” She pulled away to get Jack’s reaction.

“Yes,” Jack replied simply, big grand romantic gestures weren’t her style, she waited for Miranda’s response. Miranda slid the ring onto her ring finger and then took Jack’s hand back into her own, linking their fingers and giving Jack her answer. Jack leant over to whisper into her ear, “we’re eloping.” She said firmly.

“No… we aren’t…” Miranda replied just as determined.

Jack groaned a little, “Fine… but keep it small and relaxed please.”

Miranda grinned, she wasn’t actually opposed to eloping, but she did want a small gathering of their friends and her sister to be there.

“You may kiss,” the officiant told the pair before they kissed, there were polite claps. While Jane and Liara signed the paperwork, the attendants filed out although those in uniform created two lines, Miranda and Jack joined them. They formed two lines down the aisle, their backs to the brides as they smartly moved into position, their spacing specifically chosen so that they wouldn’t foul each other. David and Steven as the highest ranking stood at the end opposite of the newly married couple. “Ships Company… inward turn.” Steven said in a loud firm parade ground voice. As one everyone turned until they were facing each other in pairs, David and Steven, Steve and Samantha, Joker and Edi, Jack and Miranda, Karin and Greg, Kenneth and Gabby and closest to the couple, Ashley and James.

“Ships Company… shoulder arms,” Steven Hackett ordered, everyone drew their sabres and held them with the blades held in hands that kept them upright, it was done smoothly and in a timed motion. “Ships Company present arms,” he ordered and everyone saluted by bringing the cross piece of the sword to their lips. He had them hold it for several moments, “Ships Company arch arms,” he ordered and as one they held their swords above their heads as Jane and Liara turned to leave. Liara glanced to Jane, “Tradition?” she asked and Jane nodded.

They started to walk through the arch and just as they approached David and Steven, they dropped their swords, barring their path.

“Kiss!” Steven ordered playfully.

Jane chuckled, turned Liara and gave her a quick kiss before turning to swords that blocked their path.

Steven glared at her, “You call that a kiss!” he declared.

“You’re right,” Jane told him, with a jerk she pulled Liara into her arms and kissed her passionately and very thoroughly. Liara almost melted into her body, they kissed for several long moments before they finally broke their kiss.

“Better,” Steven remarked and together David and he lifted their swords, opening the path. Just as they passed the arch David dropped his sword and gently smacked Liara on the arse with the flat of his sword.

Liara yelped and spun around to see who had whacked her.

“Welcome to the Alliance family Liara,” David told her.

Jane grinned and guided Liara away from arch as Steven ordered their arms away. They continued to move until they were out of sight of the guests having done a loop. The guests would move on to the reception hall while they waited to make an entrance.

“I hope Matriarch Janara is okay.” Liara remarked hastening her steps a little so that they could find the Matriarch in question.

“I hope David hasn’t left a mark on you when he whacked you.” Jane told her as her hand gently cupped the slightly abused flesh which caused Liara to blush.

“Why didn’t you warn me that was going to happen?” Liara questioned, her voice raising in pitch a little towards the end.

Jane grinned, “Because I wanted to surprise you.”

They found Samara and Aethyta surrounding Janara. Jane released Liara and moved forward, with strong arms she lifted the Matriarch and carried her into a room. Janara barely noticed as Jane moved her carefully and placed her on the bed.

“Will she be okay?” Liara asked, she knew that Jane’s mind was… unique and occasionally it still sent her reeling and she was used to it.

“She should…” Aethyta told the pair but she was concerned.

“It’s my fault right…” Jane told the group.

Samara placed her hand on Jane’s back, “No, you are not to blame, time was our problem, if Janara had a chance to meld with you before the ceremony then things would have moved more smoothly.”

“Can we help her?” Liara asked.

“Might be for the best,” Aethyta told the pair.

Jane and Liara first touched their foreheads together before they reached out with their hands to touch Janara’s face, taking deep breaths both relaxed, letting down their mental shields, a few moments after that they were in each other’s minds. A few more moments later they reached out for Janara.

Janara felt the tentative touch of an Ancient mind and powerful mind, she reached for it, hoping it would be able to help steady her own mind, to keep it from unravelling. With a mental gasp she realised it was the minds which put her in this state. Janara almost backed away but Jane and Liara’s combined presence just waited, open to the joining but not forcing it.

Taking a mental breath, she tentatively reached out and touched her mind to theirs. This time it was a little less jarring. Liara’s mind still felt positively Ancient despite the fact that she was still very much a maiden. She had been through so much in her short life so far, so much in fact that she was sure old Matriarch minds could not compare to it but she was prepared for it, for the scars that littered her mind, some scars were fresh, still healing while others were scarred over, completely healed. Instinctively she knew that Liara would not let her explore any of the scars or wounds, that those were private. Golden tendrils snaked through her mind, stitching a few of the wounds together, the binding of minds between Liara and Jane.

Taking a moment Janara finally stepped into Jane’s mind. She now understood what Nhaimi had said, this was the mind, the will which had repulsed Harbinger. This is what Jane had been forced to become to survive. She felt Jane lead her over to a golden scar and allowed her to touch it.

_Jane glanced around at the blank landscape, it reminded her of what the Leviathan had done, back when she met the creators of the Reapers, Harbinger was trying to indoctrinate her._

_“If I must tear you apart, Shepard, I will.” Harbinger told her._

_“I won’t go down without a fight!” Jane told him as she tried to focus, to force her mind back into her body instead of this weird limbo._

_“Why do you resist us, Shepard?” Harbinger asked even as it clawed and chewed at her mind trying to bend it to their will._

_“You want to destroy my world, my people… everything I love.” Jane told him as she felt chained in place._

_“We are your genetic destiny,” Harbinger told her._

_“No… you aren’t… you are a machine… made by organics and you will be destroyed by them.” Shepard fought._

_“You will regret your resistance, Shepard.” Harbinger._

_“I am human, resisting is practically a prerequisite for us, we resist oppressors, we resist that which we believe is wrong… and you… are wrong… organic and synthetic can live together… fight together… exist together.” Jane argued even as she tried to think of a way out of this, how had Benezia fought this._

_“You are arrogant, Shepard, you will learn.”_

_Jane shook her head, “No…” she focused on what she believed had snapped the Matriarch out of indoctrination. Love, love for her daughter. “You are the arrogant ones… after all this time… after all you have seen… all the people you have consumed… you still know absolutely nothing about what it means to be alive.” Jane felt power flow through her, the power of her love and used it to wrench her mind from Harbinger’s grasp._

Janara felt that power, in its raw form but Liara and Jane were both there, keeping it from throwing her from Jane’s mind, allowing her to feel and understand the golden film which protected Jane’s mind. Slowly Janara felt the edges of her mind sure up, and she became confident again as she explored the minds a little more until finally, she was back to herself and gently pulled her mind from the pair.

“Thank you,” Janara told them as the black slowly faded from her eyes.

Jane shook her head, “No… my mind was the reason you were in distress, we had to help.”

“You should go to the reception; we’ll follow in a few minutes.” Liara told them.

Janara nodded and with Samara’s help she got to her feet and together they left the pair alone.

“Five minutes my arse, if Jane hasn’t got my daughter pressed up against the wall at this moment, I’ll walk naked into the reception.” Aethyta remarked in her gravelly voice.

Janara shifted through the undercurrent emotions she had felt, “I won’t take that bet.”

Samara grinned, “They do have a habit of making out anywhere.”

“You don’t live with them…” Aethyta stated in agreement.

“How are you?” Samara asked.

Janara considered her for a moment, “good… the second meld… was a lot less jarring. Your daughter’s mind… is amazing.” She told Aethyta, “But Jane’s… I felt the power she used to repulse Harbinger, the will that kept her going even though she was on deaths door.”

“Humbling isn’t it,” Samara stated, she too had felt that resolve when she was in Jane’s mind and Janara nodded in agreement.

“Yeah… we think we are all… superior because of our long lives, took a plucky little human to show us just what superior is…” Aethyta stated and the other two nodded. “But don’t tell her I said that.” They finally got to the reception, Aethyta made her way to the main table as she was the Father of the bride as Miranda told her.

Samara sat with other members of the Normandy team or crew who weren’t in the bridal party. Janara went and took her seat next to Thea as she was considered a diplomat.

“The human ceremony was pointless why bother?” Aria asked.

“Because they wanted to represent both cultures, I thought it was well done,” Thea told her bondmate before she turned to Janara. “Are you okay?”

“For a moment there… no…” Janara told her gently.

Thea nodded, “Liara told me that Jane’s mind is… unique.”

Janara shivered for a moment, “Unique… it doesn’t begin to describe her mind.”

Aria snorted, “she still fucks like the rest of us.”

Thea gently hit her bondmate, “Sorry Janara.”

Janara waved her away, “It’s Aria, and after being in Jane’s mind, she prefers Aria’s treatment over the simpering and devotion others show her and Liara is too polite to make a fuss.”

Aria grinned a little smug about the fact that Jane preferred her brashness.

Janara checked her omni-tool as Miranda got up from her seat and went to find the brides. “Aethyta was right, it’s been ten minutes since we left them and they still haven’t come.”

“As much as that little pure…” Aria started to say but Thea cleared her throat cutting her off.

“Aria,” Thea said gently.

“Right I did promise that I wouldn’t tease her on bonding day.” Aria remarked, “As I was saying, Liara is a maiden and very much in love. I hope Jane can… keep up. If she can’t… well my gift to the pair will help.”

“What gift?” Janara asked.

“Fifty thousand credit chit for Fornax sex emporium.” Aria answered without skipping a beat.

Thea held her head for a moment, “Seriously Aria.”

“They make good shit, most of our…”

“ARIA!” Thea cut her off.

“It was just getting interesting,” Sparatus complained.

Thea held her face trying not to react to what was happening around her.

Janara chuckled, “I see she adds a little chaos to your order.”

Thea sighed with a content smile, “She does…”

Jane and Liara finally walked into the reception followed by a flustered Miranda. Aria chuckled as her eyes picked up a new hickey on Liara’s neck.

Jane and Liara made their way to the wedding party table, suddenly waiters came out and started to serve more than just drinks and nibbles. Jane guided Liara to her seat before she finally took her own.

“People were getting antsy, what took you?” Garrus complained to Jane.

Jane frowned, “Excuse me for wanting to spend some quiet time with my new wife.” She told him.

“Ignore him, he just wants to get out of his dashing suit.” Tali told them, “I know I can’t wait.”

Garrus’s eyes went wide and his mandibles flared in embarrassment as Jane chuckled.

“Is your immune system up for that?” Jane asked Tali.

“For Garrus… always.” Tali remarked as she placed a hand on his arm and rubbed it.

“By the way…” Jane said as her eyes focused on Miranda for a moment who was chatting to Steven before she leant in to chat with Liara, “Did you notice Miranda’s new edition.” She rubbed her own wedding band in reference.

Liara nodded, “Yes, but she didn’t have it when she came to hurry me along.”

“Or when she tried to get my hair in order.” Jane added even as she smiled. “I’m happy for them though.”

They ate their food and then between courses designated people stood to give speeches. Garrus and Tali as their first attendants gave speeches then it was time for Liara’s father to give a speech. Liara drained her glass of wine and gestured for another.

“Calm down…” Jane coaxed.

“I just know she is going to say something embarrassing.” Liara told her.

“Of course, she is, she is your father, if anything… she is going to have a go at me.” Jane told her.

Aethyta stood and walked over to the little stand with the microphone.

Liara grabbed the bottle from the waiter and sat it on the table.

Aethyta cleared her throat, “So… I was told I had to do a speech… since I am the father of the bride… I know I wasn’t a good parent during my little wing’s childhood, I thought it would be for the best, leaving her with Nezie. But I’m proud of my daughter and what she has done with her life so far. Even without me she became wise, strong and despite all that has happened… kind. She got the best of both me and her mother,” Aethyta smiled. “Including her mother’s rack, so glad we could reproduce that for you and I am sure your bondmate agrees wholeheartedly.”

Liara covered her face in embarrassment even as many chuckled, Jane lifted her glass of wine and knocked it back before she moved to refill the glass as she knew it was her turn now.

“By the way Liara… Jane is an anthropocentric bag of dicks, she asked me for your hand in marriage, like you can’t make your own decisions and choices, did she tell you I told her no? she then got all bossy and said she wouldn’t take no for an answer… thought I was going to get punched that day, if I was Jane I would have punched me.” Aethyta explained and got more chuckles. “But damn kid… you always aimed high… so it doesn’t surprise me that you would fall in love with the saviour of the galaxy and to be honest… no one less than that is good enough for my Little Wing. Now I am meant to give advice, to help you as you move forward together. But… you guys know more than I do about relationships, you’ll be fine, this I know with my whole being. So, to the happy couple.” She charged her glass and everyone did the same.

Jane smiled at Aethyta as she stepped down from the stand, Liara knocked back another glass of wine. Jane poured her a glass of water, not wanting to get her bondmate drunk, she felt a moment of sadness as she glanced around, all these people, some were friends, some were family but there were people who she considered family who weren’t here to share in this moment, her parents being the main people she missed the most.

David stood and walked over to the stand. He took a deep breath, “I’m here today in the place of Jane’s parents. In fact, I am not the best person to be here, I only met her parents a few times, Alec knew them better, had even held Jane as a baby, heck she even baby sat his twins when she was older and his family was the one; she went to live with after Mindoir.” He explained. “Mindoir… we found Jane, Alec Ryder, Steven Hackett and myself, we had rushed there after we got news of the attack, to look for survivors and hoped that our friends and their child were still alive.” David glanced over to Jane, “Never would have guessed, that the scrappy teenager we found that day, would have turned into the saviour of the galaxy. Although if Alec was here, he would probably be like, of course that was her path, she was their daughter. Which is why I think… no… I know… that your parents… both sets… would be so proud to be here today, I know Steven and I are. Celebrating the union of their daughter with the person she loves.”

Jane smiled.

David glanced to Aethyta, “Sadly I can’t give you advice either, I’ve had a failed marriage… and Kahlee proposed to me. But I am sure you’ll be fine regardless so I won’t bother.” He smiled at Jane, “So… you have your ‘hot Asari wife’, now all you need is the white picket fence and little blue babies.” David said with a grin, “but I am sure you’ll get there, you always do what you set your mind to. To the happy couple.” He said and everyone charged their glass.

Liara turned to Jane, “what was that about?” she asked.

Jane suddenly felt uncomfortable, she had been careful to keep those memories from Liara simply because she didn’t want Liara to know how close she had come to dying again. Jane sighed, “probably easier to just show you.”

Liara nodded and rested her head against Jane’s initiating a meld. Jane guided Liara to the memory and then allowed her to see it.

_“I tried Shepard,” he told her as he reached for Anderson’s side arm._

_“I know.” Jane told him as she fired, killing him pretty instantly. Anderson dropped to the floor the only reason he was standing was because of the Illusive man’s control. Jane stumbled and limped over to Anderson and using her omni-tool she dispensed some medi-gel on his wound, it looked like a piece of metal had been stabbed through him and then removed. “How… how did you fight him?”_

_Jane rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah… I think I am immune to indoctrination.”_

_“You need to open the arms.” Anderson told her._

_Jane groaned as she got to her feet and walked over to a terminal. It took a few moments, her suit dispensing another dose of medi-gel. Eventually she entered the right commands and the arms started to open. Slowly she walked over to Anderson who had dragged himself to a raised platform so that he could sit up and watch. She sat down next to him but it was more along the lines of collapsed._

_“We did it,” she told him, tossing away her pistol, she had no more ammo for it anyway._

_“Yes, we did.” Anderson replied. “It’s quite a view.” He told her._

_“Best seats in the house,” Jane agreed as she gave him another dose of medi-gel, glad she had stocked up when Legionnaire had offered. She had six more doses, not including the supplies stored by her suit, her suit stored ten doses, four had been used. She just had to hold out._

_“Save it for yourself,” Anderson told her._

_“Kahlee will kill me if I didn’t try to help you.” She told him and Anderson chuckled._

_“You ever wonder,” he began, “how things would’ve been different? How our lives would be different if this… hadn’t happened?” he asked._

_“Sure,” she told him._

_“I never had a family, Jane.” He told her feeling his hold on life begin to fade. “Never had children.”_

_“Hey… did you think… all those years ago… when you, Hackett and Ryder, found me on Mindoir, that I… we would have ended up here?” Jane asked, a little loopy from all the medi-gel being flooded into her system as she dosed herself and then Anderson, four doses left in her omni-tool, six in her suit._

_“No… not back then.”_

_“Liara’s gonna kill me.” Jane remarked as she pulled her burnt and charred left hand and arm away from her side to see it coated in blood, she could feel the foreign object lodged in her side._

_Anderson gave her a pained laugh. “You thinking of settling down with Liara.”_

_“Yeah, I like the sound of that. Little blue babies, white picket fence, hot Asari wife. I’m sure I wouldn’t be much good at it, though.”_

_“Sure, you would,” Anderson told her honestly. “I think you’d make a great mother.”_

_Jane smiled, “Technically, according to Asari, I would be the father. But thanks.” She told him._

_“Think how proud your kids would be.” He told her. “Telling everyone that their dad is Commander Shepard.”_

_“I don’t know about that… not everything I’ve done… is something to be proud of.” She told him._

_“God… feels like years since I just sat down.” He told her honestly._

_“I think you earned a rest.” She told him and he groaned._

_Jane dispensed another dose of medi-gel to his body as her suit dispensed another dose of its emergency supply into her. “Stay with me. We’re almost through this.” She begged, five more doses in her suit, three more in her omni-tool, keeping the mental tally in her head was getting harder._

_“You did good, child. You did good. I’m proud of you.” He told her as he lost his grip on consciousness._

_“Thank you, sir. Anderson?” Jane felt her eyes start to close, she was so tired, it would be fine if she just closed her eyes for a few minutes. Liara’s face flashed in her mind and she was suddenly wide awake._

_“Normandy to the Citadel… please tell me that’s you Commander.” Joker’s voice said over her coms._

_“Is that you, Joker?” She asked as she struggled to her feet only to fall down, giving up, she crawled to the terminal._

_“Commander, I’m picking up some strange readings.” Joker told her. “Really strange, like off the damn charts.” He reported. Static broke over the com just as she got to the terminal. “… you need to get out before…”_

_“I’m not sure how to… Joker… Go!” She told him just before she fainted._

Liara pulled out of the meld and quickly dashed tears from her eyes, she then held Jane’s hand and reinitiated the meld. _I already knew how much medi-gel you had used to stay alive I got it from your suit and omni-tool._ She explained.

 _One thing to have data, another to see the memory._ Jane told her.

 _Your count was off by the way,_ Liara explained, _when you told Joker to go, you only had two dozes of medi-gel in your suit and three in your omni-tool._

Jane pulled Liara close and kissed her gently, _I love you and am so sorry I’ve scared you._

“Seriously get a room.” Aria said as she had come up to congratulate the pair.

They broke their kiss and meld and turned to Aria. “Aria… nice suit.” Jane told her.

“You looked okay in yours, but I still wear it better.” Aria bantered for a moment as she brushed imaginary dust from the lapel.

“Came to congratulate us?” Liara asked.

Aria smirked and went to say something but Thea interrupted her, “Yes, it was a beautiful ceremony.”

“Hey are we still taking you guys to Thessia?” Jane asked.

“If that is okay,” Thea remarked.

“It’s fine, we also have to swing pass Grissom to drop off Oriana, Miranda, Jack, David and Kahlee.” Jane explained.

Aria shook her head, “Seriously, the Normandy… possibly the most famous ship in the galaxy… is acting like a transport ship.”

Jane shrugged, “The Alliance gave me the Normandy and between the Council and the Alliance I have the funds and staff to run and maintain it. How I use it… is my choice… but if you don’t want a ride…”

“She is just teasing…” Thea told them, there was actually a fund that all council races contributed to, its sole purpose was to keep the Normandy in Jane’s hands, to give her the ability to do what she did best, help people. If she took the Councillor position like everyone wanted than the Normandy as her personal ship and would be used for diplomatic missions as well as N7 missions because there was no way in hell Hackett was letting the highly trained Jane simply sit on the side lines just because she was this great big hero or if she took the position, the human councillor, he just had to be careful as to what jobs to give her. It was the same reason why N7 rankings had been given to all the people Jane had gathered and fought with, they had all survived some dicey situations that would have killed normal soldiers, heck even those with the same designation weren’t sure they would be able to survive most of the things Jane and her people had.

Aria handed Jane a credit-chit, “Thea got you something boring… I decided to give you something useful.”

Thea was suddenly shocked, “Wait… I thought you were kidding!”

Liara spat out her drink as she read what the credit-chit was for which was displayed on Jane’s omni-tool. Jane was pleased it was water, anything else would have stained her white uniform.

“Goddess… I am…” Liara started to help Jane pat herself dry.

“It’s okay,” Jane told her with a chuckle.

Aria was grinning, pleased that she had managed to get one up on Liara even on her special day.

Liara glared at little at Aria, “Seriously…”

Aria chuckled, “Just in case Jane can’t… keep up.”

That had Liara seeing red, “Jane is the insatiable one…” she suddenly realised what was coming out of her mouth. “Oh goddess…” she covered her mouth.

Jane laughed outright even though she tried to stop. “I’m sorry, Liara you have to stop retaliating.”

“And Aria you have to stop baiting her.” Thea told her bondmate, “She’s young.” She told her as she turned Aria and walked her away from the main table, they were suddenly swarmed by well-wishers.

AN~ so I took some liberties with the Asari bonding ceremony since nothing was written about it, I based it off a pagan wrist binding ceremony as I thought it fitted with what I’ve learnt of Asari culture, I hope you enjoyed it.


	8. Chapter 8 ~ The Unknown Alien

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 8 ~ The Unknown Alien

Jane walked into the cockpit, finally out of her white uniform and into clothes she was much more comfortable in. Miranda was currently helping Liara get out of her dress because if Jane did it, she was sure they wouldn’t be leaving the captain’s quarters any time soon. The wedding had wrapped up and they had boarded the Normandy to go on their honeymoon. Joker was in his seat; Edi was beside him. Joker turned his chair around, “Where to first Commander?”

“I was going to say Grissom but Kahlee has asked us to pick up a new student.” Jane explained.

“Way to start your honey moon,” Joker told her as he turned the chair back around.

Jane shrugged, “Maybe, but I don’t mind and the Normandy does need a good run, knock some cobwebs out of the engines, stretch it’s wings a little.”

Joker chuckled, “Too right. First Lieutenant Sanders… can I get the co-ordinates for your new student so Edi and I can plot the course.”

“I will send it now,” Kahlee replied.

“Hey Commander… shouldn’t she have a higher rank?” Joker asked.

“Technically… yes… actually… no… she retired as a first Lieutenant.” Jane explained.

“But… she still wears…” Joker started to say.

“Grissom was mainly funded by the Alliance military, having an ex-military person in charge… helped.” Jane explained as she turned and left the cockpit. Jane went down to the crew deck, Oriana was getting a tour of the ship, Skjót, a Geth hunter unit was showing her around. Miranda, Jack, Kahlee, David, Thea and Aria were seated at the table chatting. Liara was making drinks for the group as the rest of the crew discretely went about their business.

“So…” Jane said into the lull, “have you guys picked a date yet?” she asked Miranda and Jack.

“Of course, you noticed,” Miranda remarked as they others gave her surprised looks.

“We haven’t, but we’ve decided that we aren’t doing big…” Jack said firmly.

“She wants to elope… I am not opposed to it, but I want a few people there.” Miranda added.

Jane grinned, “You know… if you get the papers… as captain of the Normandy… I can legally marry you while we are ‘at sea’.”

Jack turned to Miranda, it would save some hassle, “Oriana is here…”

Miranda smiled.

“But you already knew that right?” Jack stated.

Miranda nodded, “That Jane could marry us, yes… did I apply for the paperwork while you and Aria were trying to drink each other under the table, yes…”

“Are enough people here?” Jack asked.

Miranda nodded, in fact except for Jacob everyone she wanted to be here was here.

“Damn… why didn’t I think of that.” David complained.

“What… Jane marrying us?” Kahlee asked.

David nodded, “Unless you want big and fancy.” He quickly corrected, Kahlee and he hadn’t really talked too much about what they wanted when it came to marrying. They had both only just gotten used to the idea of being permanently a couple, that they were engaged. They had only really spoken about one thing, where they would live, and as much as he had wanted to settle on Earth, nearly dying had changed his mind, he wanted to be where Kahlee was, and she was the Dean of the new Grissom Academy.

Twelve Geth with a team of Alliance and Council engineers had spent the better part of half a year rebuilding and adding onto Grissom, nearly tripling its size and repairing all the damage done during the Cerberus attack. Now only three remained, they were still working on the school, adding, modifying and maintaining the school. Kahlee had released them all, thinking they would go onto another job or return to Rannoch, the other nine had but three had decided to stay and since they had free will she couldn’t order them. Instead she had put them on the payroll as employees, sometimes they helped in engineering projects, other times they did repairs on the station and they even made a point to join activities, to better understand their community.

Kahlee grinned, “I am okay with Jane marrying us but shouldn’t Steven be here.”

“Vid com room,” Jane supplied.

“So… we’re doing this?” Jack asked Miranda who nodded.

“Are we?” David asked Kahlee.

“Yes… like Miranda I organised the papers but I did it weeks ago.” Kahlee told him. “Like I was going to let you procrastinate further.”

“So… when do we want to do this, before or after your new student arrives.” Jane asked.

Kahlee considered Jane for a moment, “Before… definitely before.”

“What are we missing?” Liara asked.

“We are pretty sure her name is Ra’yven, no last name, or at least none that is on record. We don’t know her age, or her race…” Kahlee explained.

“Then why are we picking her up?” Jack asked.

“Orders…” Kahlee replied.

“Council orders, Grissom is the safest… well second safest place for her, until we figure out all the questions we have.” Thea corrected herself.

“And the safest place?” David asked.

“With Jane on the Normandy.” Thea answered swiftly and without a second thought.

Jane grinned.

“So… why does she have your attention?” Liara asked.

“We think… she’s like Javik…” Thea replied, “During the War, previously unknown ruins, that are definitely not Prothean, were unearthed by a capital class Reapers main gun and it was deeper than any ruins we’ve found before. We believe she may have come from there; she was scooped up with refugees and taken to Benning before the war ended.”

“Because Benning had food to support the refugees which is why so many were sent there before and after the war ended.” Liara remarked.

Thea nodded, “Slowly people have gone back to their worlds as those worlds recovered enough to support them. Until we had somewhere to put her, we thought she was safe on Benning.”

“But… there is a gang problem.” Aria surmised, she had heard rumours through her own network, of some very vicious gangs rising on Benning.

“A big one,” Liara corrected. “Twelve gangs, fighting for control of the lower half of the main city.”

“The Slums…” Jane corrected. “So… we have to extract her?”

Thea nodded. “Highly likely.”

“You want in on that?” Jane asked Aria.

Aria grinned, “N7 mission… sounds like fun, thankfully I brought my gear.”

“Gear?” Jane asked.

“Yeah… I always bring specially made N7 Commando armour with me where ever I go these days.” Aria explained. “I can’t be seen doing good things, bad for my image. The armour… hides who I am.”

“Gives you the illusion… I am pretty sure people know it is you.” Liara bantered.

“Want to go…”

“So… about getting us married,” Miranda said over Aria, cutting the fight off before it devolved any further.

“What’s this about you getting married?” Oriana asked.

*

“So… how are we tackling this,” Liara asked as she adjusted her armour, she was still getting used to it, the high grade armour presented to her by Hackett, everyone had been given N7 armour tailored for them, even Samara had been offered new armour but she had declined it, it was stored on the Normandy regardless. They were in the war room, looking over a holographic map of the area.

“Got any shadow broker intel you can share.” Jane asked.

“Yeah, I had a look at what Thea had, we have a general location of where she was last seen by a relief worker but she is in the middle of a current turf war between the Valhalla Hounds and the Bloody Grimms,” Liara explained as she gestured to the area.

“So… going in guns blazing?” Aria asked as she put her helmet down.

Jane hummed, “I would rather not, there are a lot of innocent people in that area that could be hurt by stray fire.”

“Biotics it is then.” Aria stated.

Jane hummed, “Joker… how close can you get the Normandy, can you get us close enough for a jump drop.”

“This is me your talking about of course I can get us close.” Joker stated.

Aria frowned not understanding.

“I was thinking… make the gangs piss themselves. The Normandy and Supreme Fleet Commander Shepard rolls up on a place, armoured up and ready to start shit…” Jane started to explain.

“Shit… every time you come to Omega all the gangs lay low. So, I can totally see that working.” Aria remarked, “I mean it’s boring, but I get it.”

Jane smiled, “Don’t worry Aria, there are always some idiots and if she is a real Ancient Alien, there is a chance the gangs might try to capture and sell her. So still a high chance of fighting, I just want the smart ones, the really dangerous ones, to pause and ask themselves… do they want to test their luck against mine.”

“Since you never loose…” Aria stated, “They would be stupid to attack you.”

“That’s the theory.” Jane said with a grin.

“So, we only have to worry about stupid…” Jack remarked as she tied up her hair.

Miranda did a squat to check her armour then stood and twisted her body.

Jack gave Miranda a heated look.

“Newlyweds… save it for after the gun fight.” Aria told the pair. “The sex is better… trust me…”

Thea blushed and tried to hide herself as the others laughed. David and Kahlee were also armoured up as was Edi, but unlike the others David and Kahlee were meant to be covering their retreat.

“Five-minute warning.” Joker called.

Everyone moved down to the hanger bay, Steve was also in armour as well and would be covering their retreat with David, Kahlee and Skjót. Aria went to put her helmet on.

“Oh… before we go further… what do we call you when you are in armour Aria.” Jane asked.

“Hackett gave me the code name _Alpha_.” She said in accented English.

Jane chuckled, “Make sense, since _Alpha_ is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and _Omega_ is the last.”

Aria just glared a little before she put on her helmet.

Edi did some final checks, like the others she was wearing her N7 armour even though her body could handle being shot, the loose strains of her hair were locked into the protective bob she was known for.

Jane glanced around as she did her final checks, there was enough people for two teams but she knew they wouldn’t move as two teams but as one larger team. However, since everyone knew how the others fought, they could anticipate each other when it came to a fight.

“Commander I am opening the hanger door… ten seconds to drop zone.” Joker declared as the hanger door opened. “Good Luck.” He told them.

“We don’t need luck, we’ve got ammo.” The others told him back just as he got into position.

“Commander we will need to use ropes, we are a little higher than normal.” Edi said as she grabbed a thick rope, everyone copied.

“Steve, unless Joker can figure out a way to pick us up, ready the shuttle.” Jane called as she bent down and clipped the hook onto bar set into the floor, the others copied her and then as a group they gripped the ropes and ran forward and jumped. They all safely made it onto the deck and released the ropes which were brought up by Skjót. People saw them and instantly recognised Jane and Normandy as well as most of the people with her.

Jane walked forward; her guns were holstered but everyone knew by now that she didn’t need them to be dangerous.

“Shepard Commander,” a Geth Hunter walked forward.

“Hello… and you are?” Jane asked.

“Angel, I work with the refugees.” The Geth explained.

“We are here to pick up the unknown race refugee, any idea where she is?” Jane asked.

The Geth considered her for long moments.

“One of the gangs has her right?” Aria asked, there was a voice modifier in her helmet which changed her voice.

“That is correct, I still have work to do here, I cannot interfere.” Angel remarked.

“That’s fine,” Aria remarked before she threw out a lash and dragged a person to her. “This one was trying to slip away.”

“Nice catch.” Jane stood over the man then leant down, he flinched. “So… a choice… the unknown Alien… I have been asked to collect her…”

“We don’t have it…” the man said in a panicked voice.

“You’ll have to prove that, until then… you have… twenty minutes to get them to us… you can guess what will happen if it doesn’t happen…” Jane stood up. “Let him go _Alpha_.”

The man bolted the moment Aria released him. “Was that really a smart thing?”

“I’ve learnt a few things from my association with Aria T’loak… well placed threats… work… besides, it’s not a threat if I fully intend to wipe out both gangs to get her.” Jane explained.

“The guy _Alpha_ got, was a Grimm, he had a scythe on his neck, Hounds have a paw print.” Liara added as she gestured to another running person.

“Good they both got the message.” Jane remarked then smiled and waved at a few children who were gazing at her with awe, the hero of the galaxy was here and they got to see her with their own eyes. Jane brought up her omni-tool and sent an email to Hackett about the gang problem and that they needed to be squashed out before Benning turned into Omega.

A woman walked forward just before Jane’s twenty minutes dead line. “I was asked to come as a representative of the Grimms…”

“Well… you are going to tell me you don’t have her, so, where is she?” Jane surmised.

“The hounds have her,” the woman stated.

Jane noticed a new person approaching. “But that will be a hound, making the same statement… so… which of you is telling the truth.”

_“Shepard Commander,”_ Skjót said into her com unit. _“Angel just gave me a way to track her. It is why he knows roughly where she is. I am currently running scans with Traynor, give us twenty seconds.”_

“Look, I just got married, I want to start my honeymoon, I wanted this to be quick.” Jane told the two representatives. “Now I’m just pissed… so I will let you in on a secret. I know exactly where she is, I just didn’t feel like exerting myself, but as I said now, I’m pissed.” Reaching over her shoulder she grabbed her M-96 Mattock.

“Commander we have a lock on her,” Edi remarked as the information had been fed to her.

“Which gang are we wiping out,” Jane asked.

“According to the gang territory maps we have… the Grimms.” Edi replied.

“Huh…” Liara remarked as an alert came up on her omni-tool. “The Shadow Broker just let me know, Grimms are trying to sell her to them.”

“Crap… how much is that going to cost me this time.” Jane remarked and noticed the Grimm representative turn to flee.

“Freebee apparently,” Liara answered before she flicked her wrist, sending out a singularity which caught the fleeing woman and lifted her into the air.

“A favour…” Jane surmised.

“No… a freebee, apparently the Shadow Broker owes you a few favours.” Liara told her firmly. “You going to get that.” She nodded to the person trapped in her singularity.

“EVERYONE… RETURN TO YOUR HOMES AND LOCK YOURSELVES IN.” Jane yelled and everyone suddenly scattered.

“So… we’re good,” the Valhalla hound asked with slight relief.

“I won’t wipe you out, but you might want to stop being a gang. The Alliance won’t tolerate this place turning into a new Omega or into some places on earth. I am also pretty sure Aria might take offense and come… to prove why no one Fucks with Aria.” Jane warned and since everyone else had left the scene she lifted her gun and shot the Grimm.

“Let’s go…” Jane came to stand beside the man, “if something happens to Angel… deals off.” She said before she jogged after her team.

**

Aria picked her way through the bodies. “This was boring…”

“ _Alpha_ you are used to fighting trained mercs, of course this rag tag group are going to be easy.” Jane told her, there were pockets of good fighters but they were in the minority. During their fighting they had found captives, refugees for a slave market, Edi and Miranda were currently escorting them out. “I thought the Batarians weren’t using slaves anymore.”

“They aren’t, even Illium has done away with indentured servitude,” Liara stated, “I will start digging, see who is buying slaves.” She typed away on her on her omni-tool, getting the broker network onto it, if she didn’t have information by the next day cycle then she would consider it a failing on her part. Her network of agents was scattered but it was slowly growing again, more so since she had made changes. Yes, she had agents, people who worked exclusively for her but she also allowed anyone to trade information.

Jane holstered her weapons and went to the room which was being guarded so fiercely. Opening it she found a race she had never met before. They were chained and gaged, Jane held out her hands in a way she hoped would be considered as that she meant no harm as she took slow deliberate steps forward.

Her eyes took in the weird glowing green irises, the horizontal golden pupils that almost completely cut through the irises and there was no white, the irises were surrounded by inky blackness. Jane then took in the rest of the sapient before her, their skin was dark grey, slightly long pointed ears poked out from her black hair.

Slowly Jane reached forward to remove the gag, she flinched, Jane gave her a look that she hoped portrayed her friendly intent and carefully removed the gag. “There, that’s better.” Jane told her gently then shuffled a little closer to work on the shackles, they had biotic dampeners in them so Jane had to hack them first before she then unlocked them.

Jane stood and offered her hand to the person to help her up. They hesitated for a few moments before she placed her hand in Jane’s and Jane gently helped her to her feet. The person could barely stand so Jane knelt and scooped them up into her arms and carried her out.

“I have contacted the authorities and told them what we did, they will clean up.” Liara remarked. “Hopefully someone will be there so you can give them a start.” She added as she ran her omni-tool over the person in Jane’s arms. She was sure although at the moment she couldn’t prove it that some of the officials were taking kickbacks from some of the gangs. “I am not a medical expert… but she seems… thin… maybe she hasn’t been fed and that might explain her weakness.”

Jack was standing with Aria, “Check out those ears,” she reached out and just managed to touch one before the person pulled away.

“Jack… you know you might have just propositioned her. Please think a little before do something.” Jane told her as she carried the woman from the gang’s headquarters. 

“Hey… tell me you don’t want to touch them.” Jack complained.

“Of course, but I have impulse control.” Jane replied.

“I do not get your species fascination with ears; they are skin and cartilage.” Aria remarked and Liara shrugged just as perplexed.

They continued to walk, making their way to the pickup.

“Looks like our Valhalla friend stuck around.” Jack remarked as she came to stand next to Miranda. Angel was already working on the released refugees, getting their names, matching them to the missing people he had.

“Angel are you still missing people?” Jane asked as she carefully put the alien down.

“Um… about a dozen.” Angel told her.

Jane turned to the Valhalla hound, “Your group had better not have them… also a deal breaker.”

The hound shook his head. “No… slaves… trafficking... isn’t what we do… in fact we were going to organise a raid to free them.”

“The Valhalla’s aren’t bad,” Angel told her. “They have been muscling out other gangs in the area to give peace to the refugees… to keep the drugs out… the looting down… I was not afraid of them.”

“So, the Valhalla are vigilantes slash militia.” Miranda remarked and Angel nodded.

“I’ll let Hackett know, but if you change… you will be wiped out.” Jane told him and he nodded.

“We… just wanted to keep people safe, we’ve broken up four gangs, made it too hard for them to fight us, to be in this area.” He explained.

Jane nodded and scooped back up the Alien, “I’ll let Hackett know, you know you can apply to become a recognised Militia. Edi send him the paperwork.”

Edi nodded and typed on her omni-tool for several moments. “Done.”

“Get that filled in and sent off asap… the Alliance will be here soon to clear out the gangs.” Jane warned and got a vigorous nod. Joker had managed to change his approach angle and now they could easily step onto the ramp. Jane followed the others up the ramp and into the ship, the ramp closed and Joker took off seamlessly.

Aria took off her helmet, “that was boring.”

“If we had gone in stealthily, we would have had more of a fight, but we would’ve hurt innocents in the meantime.” Jane explained.

“It was fun however to watch them piss themselves.” Aria added before she left to change. Jane carried the Alien to the med bay.

Karin took one look and blocked her. “Nope, not until she’s clean.” She did a quick scan before she grabbed a packet which biotics sucked on during battle. Tearing the end off she offered it to the Alien and made an eating motion.

The Alien took the packet and since she had seen others eat it, she put it in her mouth and sucked it down.

“Take her to the bathroom, I will get Edi to raid our spares.” Karin told her and Jane nodded and walked off. She had thought Karin might have retired after the war, instead when it became common knowledge that Jane was being given the Normandy permanently and looking for a crew Karin had put her name forward as the ships doctor. Jane guessed that in a way Karin was retiring, just in her own way, Joker was here as there was no way he would be away from his girlfriend. Samantha had decided to stay on as had Gabby, Kenneth and Steve. Slowly Jane was vetting new potential crew, Legionnaire had recommended Skjót as she could help on missions if needed, Jane couldn’t refuse as he put forward a good argument.

Jane got to the bathroom and gently put the Alien back on her feet. She stood a little hesitantly, Jane stepped away and pulled out a towel and since there were soap dispensers against the wall, she would be fine.

“You shower, I’ll change.” Jane told her as she showed her how to use the taps then left her to it.

Jane went and returned her arms before she went to her room to change out of her armour and into a set of work blues before, she returned to the bathroom on the crew deck. Edi was standing there waiting for her.

“Edi… you look… perplexed.” Jane noticed.

“Yes… I took clothes into the bathroom for the Alien.” Edi replied.

“And?” Jane questioned.

“I am confused… everyone referred to the Alien as a she, but they have male and female anatomy.” Edi explained.

Jane shrugged, “Asari are mono gendered, some prefer to use male pronouns in reference to themselves some female and then some prefer gender neutral pronouns. The Alien… we can’t even communicate with them yet, everyone assumed because they are noticeably female. Once we know the right pronoun, we will refer to them correctly.”

Edi nodded. “Dr Chakwas took them.”

Jane nodded and went to med-bay. “How are they Karin?” Jane asked as she gave a friendly smile to the Alien.

“Malnutrition mainly, cuts and bruises.” Karin answered, “I asked Edi to whip up a meal for her with a list of musts in it after she told you I had her.”

“Edi told me they are a hermaphrodite,” Jane explained.

Karin nodded, “Yes… but I think she is more female than male, higher levels of female hormones circulating in her body but I could be wrong, if she corrects me then I will use a different pronoun. But she has a very interesting genetic structure, Protheans have a quad-helix, these guys have a hexa-helix and I don’t think she is a genetic abnormality but that all of her species are hermaphrodites. How they evolved that way is going to be interesting to know. If she knows. She also has much technology inside her as you do Jane, I don’t know what it is for though, whether she needs it to survive or if it was added to enhance her.”

“We can just go to the world…”

“No, we can’t…” Thea walked in, “The Reapers blew it up.”

“Fucking Reapers…” Jane muttered.

“I am done with my scans and medical assessment. I’ve inoculated her against viruses but I’m not sure she needed it, like you Commander she has some very advanced micro bots inside of her. All she needs is to get some food into her.” Karin told Jane.

Jane gestured for the Alien to follow her, they didn’t hesitate, they hopped down of the exam table and followed Jane into the mess.

Edi glanced over from stove, she measured out ingredients as she expertly put together a meal. Jane pulled out a chair and patted it before she moved to take the seat opposite her. No sooner had they both settled and gave the Alien a few moments to glance around Jane got her attention by tapping the table.

Jane tapped her chest a few times, “Jane.”

“Shepard Commander.” The Alien stated.

“Do you understand me?” Jane asked and got a confused look. “Take that as a no.”

“Shepard Commander, perhaps she watched Diana’s segments, knows names but not much else.” Skjót stated.

“And a Geth constantly pointing at me and saying Shepard Commander is probably why she knows me as such.” Jane replied.

Edi put down a bowl of stir-fried vegetables with strips of chicken and noodles, a glass of juice and fork to eat with. Jane made an eating motion and they started to eat, slowly at first but they started to speed up a little but not too fast.

“Would you like some Commander?” Edi asked.

“Yes please.” Jane replied. A few minutes later a bowl was put down before Jane as well as a set of chopsticks and a cup of coffee. Jack and Miranda walked into the room, Jack walked over to the wok and served herself a heaped bowl.

“Thanks Edi,” Jack grabbed a fork and an empty cup as a pot of coffee was on the table and joined them at the table. Miranda scooped out the last of the stir fry, poured herself a juice and grabbed some chopsticks.

“Thanks Edi,” Miranda remarked as she sat.

“I will make more, Aria and Liara will be hungry.” Edi remarked and went back to make another batch.

Jane expertly ate her meal with chopsticks much to the Alien’s confused look but since Jack was using a fork and Miranda was using chopsticks, they guessed the food could be eaten either way. Jack put some of her broccoli into Miranda’s bowl. Miranda returned it and gave her wife a look.

“I hate broccoli…” Jack told her.

“It’s good for you,” Miranda told her firmly.

Jack sighed and forced herself to eat it. Edi had blanched it quickly before it went into the wok. It was still slightly crisp and very nice to eat, not the soggy mess Jack was used to being served.

The Alien finished first and drank her juice. Aria and Liara had finally joined them by the time she finished.

Jane finished her meal and took a sip of her coffee. “Thanks Edi that was delicious.”

“Your welcome,” Edi called as she was cleaning up.

“Hey… you cooked, someone else is meant to do the dishes.” Jane complained.

“You are working.” Edi replied as she continued.

Jane sighed and turned her attention to the person before them. “Jane,” she tapped her chest, “Jack,” She touched Jack, then gestured to the alien hoping to get their name.

Tapping her chest twice, “Ra’yven.”

“Ra’yven,” Jane said, “Hopefully that is her name.” she considered her next step. “You know… as much as a dick that he is… I wish Javik was here. A simple touch and he would be able to talk to her.”

“Yeah but that is if he is even able to understand her, we don’t know what cycle she is from.” Liara remarked as she looked over what Karin had figured out about her genetics. “We have no records of a being with a hexa-helix, do you want me to try to get a hold of him?”

Jane shook her head, “I doubt he has the answer, he was born during his extinction cycle, he was taught to fight, everything else was irrelevant.”

“Can we tell by carbon dating… no won’t work if she’s been out of hyper-sleep too long.” Liara remarked.

“The way she was tracked…” Sam said as she walked in to get a drink and maybe a snack too, heard them try to figure out how to date their new Alien. “Is via a unique radiation signature, in fact you have come across it before Commander. It is the same signature that of that ‘killed’ Reaper you got the IFF from.”

Jane’s eyes went wide, “No way… that’s impossible… that Reaper was ‘killed’… 37 million years ago… she can’t have been in stasis that long.”

“It has the same decay readings.” Sam replied as she sipped her tea.

“But… how…” Liara remarked just as surprised.

Jane was thinking hard. “We might have to go and investigate the planet’s debris field. JOKER… change course please.”

“Where are we going Commander?” Joker asked.

Jane turned to Thea, “Can you send him the planet you think she comes from?”

Thea nodded.

“Way to start your honey moon,” Aria remarked.

“Come on Aria… it’s a mystery…” Jane told her with a smile. “And are you in a rush?”

Aria turned to Liara, “Are humans always like that?”

Liara considered her for a moment before she nodded, “All the humans I know are insanely curious.”

*

“Okay Commander, we are here, what are we looking for?” Joker told them a day later.

Jane leant on his chair, “Anything with a similar radiation reading to Ra’yven.”

Edi nodded and launched several probes into the large debris field. “Traynor and Skjót are assisting.”

Jane nodded and walked down to the galaxy map, everyone was standing around it hoping to spot something, anything that could help them. Ra’yven stood next to Jane and watched the map.

“Edi there is a larger chunk to 9o’clock of probe bravo.” Jane supplied five minutes later.

“Making the adjustments.” Edi replied.

Karin raced into the room, “Jane someone is trying to hack your implants.”

Jane frowned, “I don’t feel anything different.”

“I said trying… they aren’t succeeding.” Karin glanced around the room.

“Edi… any external signals capable of trying to hack my implants.” Jane asked.

“No and no internal ones… wait there is a signal, it is faint and coming from next to you.” Edi corrected.

Jane glanced to Ra’yven. “Edi… only Ra’yven is next to me and she has nothing on her to hack me with.”

“Um… not necessarily, I told you she has slightly as much technology within her than you do, she could be using her own implants.” Karin corrected.

“Is that possible?” Miranda asked as she too came to monitor what Ra’yven was doing, Ra’yven glanced around as she released, she was being studied closely. Karin shrugged.

“But why would she want to hack my implants?” Jane asked.

Edi joined them, “Commander, I have a theory.” Everyone turned to Edi, “She might be trying to learn a language to communicate with.”

“Why not hack you or a Geth… why me?” Jane asked.

Edi shrugged.

Miranda frowned, “Edi… prepare to boot her out if she does anything malicious. Commander do you trust me?”

“Of course, I do.” Jane replied without hesitation as she felt a tingle. “That’s a curious sensation, is that you Edi?”

Edi wasn’t paying attention she seemed to be focused on something. She blinked and Jane felt the tingle vanish. “I don’t need to protect Shepard, her implants pushed me out.”

“Um… can we do this another time; we want to try to learn more about Ra’yven’s people.” Jane told the room, in fact she wanted to do this a little more privately.

Everyone nodded and focused back on the task at hand.

*

A few hours later, Karin finished placing some pads on Jane’s chest and temples, Steve was currently fishing for the things they had found in the planet’s debris field. There wasn’t much, only six pieces of what they hoped was intact technology, the Reapers had thoroughly done their job wiping out traces of this race. However, Edi was positive that they had at least one fully functioning data node, part of a hyper sleep chamber and four undiscernible items, all that they knew, was that they all had the same radiation signature as Ra’yven.

Miranda was placing the same pads on Ra’yven, the med-bay glass was opaque to prevent people from seeing this. Liara had wanted to be here but Jane had reminded her that she was the only archaeologist on board and that they needed to preserve whatever they had found. Reluctantly she had left it to them, Thea was here as she would be initiating a shallow meld with Jane, her mental barriers were considered the strongest on board.

“Are you okay?” Aria asked concerned as Thea opened her eyes from her meditation, she had melded with Jane a little while a go to get a feel for the mind she was meant to monitor. It had taken a few times for her to actually get through the golden barrier that protected Jane’s mind, Jane hadn’t been able to relax enough until the third time and since they were just doing a shallow meld, not going deep it eventually worked.

Thea considered her for a moment then nodded, “Jane is slowly getting better at releasing her own mental barriers… so not as jarring as Janara’s meld.”

“Maybe we should hold off until we are at Grissom,” Aria stated firmly as Kahlee was setting up with Karin.

Kahlee glanced over, “Why? We have all experts we need right here. Miranda, helped create the implants, Edi, helped redesign the code which protects them. Karin… is probably the only person other than Miranda who knows how Jane’s implants work.”

“Then…” Aria started to say but Thea stopped her.

“Jane was right, Liara is the only archaeologist on board, she needs to protect what was found.” She held Aria’s hands. “I have this. I wasn’t meditating to cope with Jane’s mind, but to truly feel it, to remember and know how it feels.”

“Why?” Aria asked with a slight frown.

“Remember when I told you my mental barriers were strong, back when we started our… relationship… hers are stronger, I’ll show you later but I want to try to figure that out.” Thea told her.

Aria sighed.

“If it gets dangerous, I’ll knock Ra’yven out.” Karin stated as she placed a hyper-spray near Ra’yven.

Kahlee finished setting up cameras and scanners, even Thea was being monitored as was Edi but she was being monitored by Samantha in Edi’s core.

“Okay… are we ready,” Jane asked. Thea moved closer and grabbed Jane’s hand with her own bare one, after taking a steadying breath she initiated a shallow meld.

“Edi?” Karin asked.

Both Jane and Thea shivered as Jane’s entire body started to tingle. _That truly is an odd sensation… like your implants are… Jane… like you let me in, allow Edi in._

_I don’t have control of my implants._ Jane told her.

_I think you do… kind of. When your heart stopped, I think your will was felt by the machines within you, bringing you back. Your will to live, to get stronger, to live longer, all was felt by your implants, it woke up the micro-bots within you… your side effects… are the reflection of your will._ Thea replied.

_But how…_ Jane thought for a moment, _right… Reaper based implants… Reapers were organic machines._

“Thea…” Aria started to reach for her bondmate.

“I… fine… we… Jane… trying something…” Thea told the room.

It took a few moments of visualisation, of mentally allowing Edi’s signal in that the tingling faded.

“I am in…” Edi remarked. “Curious… they let me in… for now…”

“That is… what… working on,” Thea explained, it was hard to talk verbally during a meld.

Karin raced forward with a tissue as Jane’s nose was bleeding.

“Her vitals are stable… brainwaves…” Kahlee frowned, “I’ve never seen readings like this before.”

Miranda walked over to watch, “Those are new,” she said as she pointed to four new brainwave patterns.

“That one is Thea,” Kahlee pointed to one line.

Karin removed the tissue but Jane’s nose continued to trickle a little of blood.

“Jane’s nose bled like that when she fought Harbinger’s indoctrination.” Aria explained.

Karin frowned, “I didn’t know that.”

Aria shrugged, “easy to forget considering we were fighting for our lives.”

Karin nodded and just tapped a pad to Jane’s face to catch the blood.

Once Jane was happy, she reached over with her free hand and took Ra’yven’s. Again, she visualised letting Ra’yven’s signal in and felt a protest.

“What was that!” Kahlee exclaimed.

“We can explore that later.” Miranda remarked.

“It felt like her implants complained,” Edi supplied.

“Same…” Thea added.

Again, Jane focused, only this time she added why she wanted to let Ra’yven’s signal in and even gave them permission to eject her if she did anything but learn a language. Jane twitched as she felt the new tingle as her implants reacted to Ra’yven.

Ra’yven turned to Jane and frowned, she tilted her head and the tingling faded. Instead it felt like goose bumps broke out all over Jane’s body as the two technologies communicated, a little like two new cats bristling as they got to know each other. Goose bumps also broke out over Ra’yven’s skin as the two technologies learnt to talk and understand each other.

An hour later Ra’yven released Jane, “Thank you.” She stated.

Edi and Thea pulled out leaving Jane alone in her body and mind. Jane asked her implants to allow Edi and Ra’yven to connect to them, within reason before she too opened her eyes. Reaching up she removed the pad that was collecting blood from her nose. Karin offered her a new one and Jane used it to clean up.

“How is your head?” Karin asked.

“Like it’s been stuffed with cotton.” Jane replied.

“Thea?” Karin asked as she moved over to the Asari.

“Okay… I will have to meditate again just to be safe but… that was very interesting.” Thea remarked.

“You’re telling me…” Miranda stated, “This is ground breaking…”

“You only know the half of it,” Thea told her, “When Edi was trying to connect, it was like there was a resistance, similar to the golden film that protects Jane’s mind.”

“So, you were behind the Commander… ‘letting’ me in?” Edi questioned.

Thea nodded, “Liara told me about what happened during the wave, when Jane died…”

“Again…” Karin complained.

“How many times is that now?” Jane asked.

Karin frowned, “Since I’ve known you… a lot more than you think.”

“Twice right?” Aria questioned and Karin shook her head and Aria’s eyes went wide.

“Her heart stopped the first and second time she interacted directly with a Prothean beacon, proving why a non-Prothean should never directly interact with Prothean technology.” Karin explained, the only reason she knew this was because her armour had shocked her heart back into life and the computer in her suit recorded it.

“Then I was spaced,” Jane stated.

“And the only reason we could put her back together was her armours shields protected her from burning up and her helmet kept her brain from being damaged,” Miranda added still kind of impressed she had managed it and glad she has as the galaxy would have been truly fucked without Jane. “Although… some would disagree about her brain not being damaged.” There were chuckles by some in the room.

“Then her heart stopped again shortly after returning from the Leviathans, again her suit shocked her heart back into normal rhythm and finally in the AI core… so Jane has technically died 5 times since I’ve known her. I put the cavate of since I’ve known her because I’ve only known her the last couple of years.” Karin finished.

Aria gave Jane a perplexed look, wondering how the human could keep coming back from the dead.

“I think Jane’s will to survive, was somehow communicated to her implants and technology. Hence all the side effects we are seeing now.” Thea explained.

“It’s not surprising,” everyone turned to Ra’yven as she was the one who was talking. “Technomancy was pretty normal in my time, is it not in this time?” Ra’yven asked, her accent was interesting, lilting but with a weird timber to it.

“Technomancy?” Thea asked not familiar with the term.

“The ability to control and interact with machines without using a separate machine or computer program as a medium.” Ra’yven explained.

“Yeah it isn’t in this time, strictly science fiction.” Miranda told her pleased that their experiment had worked.

Ra’yven frowned, “But Shepard Commander has it. She is in a symbiotic relationship with her technology, not a machine and organic relationship like with the… Devourers.”

“You mean the Reapers?” Jane asked as she tossed the gauze into a bin.

“Yes, the Reapers… fitting term.” Ra’yven remarked, “Your implants… listen to you, it was why I could get into them to learn to speak.”

“Why couldn’t you learn before?” Miranda asked.

“Your syntax, is very different to anything I know. Not to mention you all speak different languages.” Ra’yven explained.

“How are you understanding us?” Aria asked, the translators they used were very good, it allowed everyone to understand each other.

“I got the designs and codes from Jane’s implants; I then asked my micro-bots to rework the translation implants I have already.” Ra’yven explained.

“Wait… you can build technology within your body?” Karin asked.

Ra’yven nodded, “But it was considered rare during my race’s time though.”

“What is your race’s name?” Jane asked.

“Commander,” Joker’s voice came over the comms, “Cortez has just come back with his final load and Liara has finished preserving everything. She wants you and the brains trust down there.”

“Brains trust?” Miranda questioned but it was a fitting term for most of the people here.

“Thank you, Joker, take us to Grissom please.” Jane told him as she hopped down from the table Karin helped her remove all the pads which monitored her, Aria was taking care of Thea’s and Miranda took care of Ra’yven’s.

“Aye Commander.”

“My people… were known as The People.” Ra’yven explained. “Two races evolved on our original world.”

“So, the world that was destroyed?” Thea asked.

“We were terra forming it, the Others weren’t hostile to us but we weren’t exactly friendly. Cats and Dogs is the analogy coming to mind although I do not know why or what is a cat or dog. It was going to take a couple of thousand years so we buried ourselves deeply in a tectonically stable area and went to sleep.”

“We?” Karin asked.

“Nearly Six hundred thousand of us.” Ra’yven answered.

Thea closed her eyes pained at the loss of life. “I am sorry…”

Ra’yven shook her head, “I was in a different section, a sealed section because I had to have a very specific chamber.”

“Because your Technomancy is different?” Jane supplied.

Ra’yven nodded. “I am more connected to my technology than others are and am able in most cases to connect and manipulate other technology, when I woke, I was informed by my chamber that it lost contact with the rest of the station a hundred years after we went to sleep. I believe the Reapers got them or there was a failure caused by the Reapers.”

“Let’s go see what we managed to find.” Jane told the room.

“Go ahead I am going to meditate,” Thea told her.

Kahlee was torn between the data before her and the items that weren’t.

“Hey, the data… will still be there in an hour.” Miranda told her as she helped Ra’yven down from the table.

“Jane if your nose starts bleeding again come back immediately.” Karin ordered then turned to Ra’yven and used a gentler tone. “Um, for your records, I have to indicate sex… what would you like me to use?”

Ra’yven considered her for a moment, “Right… I am technically both sexes.”

Karin nodded.

“But I have always considered myself more female.” Ra’yven explained.

“You know what, I will just put genetically both prefers being referred to as female.” Karin remarked.

“Hey… if you were asleep long before the harvest, how did you know about the Reapers?” Jane asked, the Reapers would not have missed a large underground station if it was built during the harvest.

“Data packets saved to my section over time, were downloaded into me when I woke.” Ra’yven answered. “It was a lot, when the rest of the station was breeched there was a data dump to my section and then I was cut off to hide me. I was very disorientated when I was found because I had to process a shit load of information and then… boom… I was in the middle of a war and couldn’t understand anyone.”

They left the room, “You were considered quite important weren’t you,” Jane remarked.

“I am not just a very advanced and different Technomancer,” Ra’yven explained as she held out her hand, a glass was jerked out of a crewman’s hand and flew into Ra’yven’s. “I was also born telekinetic.”

“No biotics…” Miranda remarked, she could move items but not without biotics.

Ra’yven returned the glass and the crewman took it. “Back before my race travelled the stars and even after it, people born with this ability were considered and treated like demi-gods.” She explained. “It was frustrating… and took a lot of time to petition for changes, to allow me the freedom to do what I wanted, learn what I wanted, live where I wanted and finally get rid of the ceremonial guards.”

“How old are you?” Edi asked.

Jane gave Edi a mortified look, “Edi… you don’t just ask a woman’s age.”

Edi sighed, “That only applies to humans Commander, Asari are perfectly fine saying how old they are and they live longer.”

Ra’yven smiled, “I have ‘lived’ a little more than a thousand years. I won’t include hyper-sleep.”

“Was that considered young or old for your people?” Edi asked and Jane groaned.

“Have I thought you nothing?” Jane complained.

Ra’yven chuckled as they walked into the lift it was so relieving to finally be able to speak with people, to interact normally. “Powerful Technomancers could live in theory hundreds of thousands of years, in fact most of the time they had to choose death or be killed. Normal Technomancers could live, up to ten thousand years tops.”

“And you are a powerful one,” Miranda remarked as the doors opened and they stepped out into the hanger bay.

Ra’yven nodded, Liara was busy cataloguing the finds. “Which means the extinction cycles were a lot further apart to begin with.”

Jane nodded, “The Reapers artificially accelerated the cycles by leaving technology behind.”

“Right… they did that…” Miranda stated having forgotten that piece of information.

Jane walked over and gave her wife a hug. Leaning in close she put her lips to Liara’s left ear. “Did I ever tell you how sexy you look in your lab coat… and that I can’t wait to peel you out of it.”

Liara blushed.

“Urg… get a room you two,” Jack told them before she walked over to Miranda and kissed her.

“Pot… this is the kettle… your black…” Jane called before she released her wife. “So, what do we have?”

“A lot more than I ever found at that dig on Therum.” Liara explained. “I will need a hand hooking it up to the power grid but that,” she pointed to the largest piece they had. “Is a fully functioning data node like Edi thought it was.”

Ra’yven nodded, “It connected to my hyper sleep chamber. I can help you with repairs and how to match the power grids.”

Liara turned to Ra’yven before she turned back to Jane, “So it worked,” she frowned. “You missed a spot.” She reached up and rubbed a bit of dried blood away.

“That is part of my hyper sleep chamber… this all looks to be from the room I was in.” Ra’yven remarked as she walked down the items, “this is a box of personal items.” She brushed her hand against the raised script. “My portable workstation.” She touched the next box. “I don’t know what the last two are.”

Liara looked at what they had found and then glanced to Ra’yven before she sighed, “we aren’t having a traditional honey moon anymore are we.”

Jane wrapped her arm around her, “We aren’t exactly a normal couple now are we. Besides… you are enjoying this aren’t you?”

Liara sighed, “I am, and I have a living remnant of the race I am studying.”

Jane chuckled and leant in again to whisper against her ear. “Still doesn’t mean I’m not going to love your body till exhaustion.”

Liara shivered causing Jane to smile.

“I will talk to Thea and Aria about asking any nearby Asari ships to take them or if that isn’t possible do a quick run myself. I’ll go get tools and a generator.” Jane told her before she released Liara and stepped back, she gave Liara’s arse a gentle and playful slap before she went to walk off. Liara jumped, the blush covering her cheeks deepened even as she tried to glare at her bondmate.

Ra’yven used her telekinesis powers lifted and moved the box with her portable workstation to a more open space and put it down. Holding her hand out she thought the open codes to the box and hoped there was enough power in it to open. There was a slight hum and then silence.

“Huh… you guys don’t use wireless energy as your normal means of power distribution, do you?” Ra’yven asked.

Liara shook her head. “Was it normal for your people?”

“Yes.” Ra’yven remarked.

Jane returned ten minutes later with a large create of tools and a generator. Well at least, Jane came carrying the generator while Edi carried the tools.

“I got power,” Jane declared as she put the generator down. “Kenneth gave me this one, said it can create variable voltages so it should be able to connect to almost any power grind.” She explained.

“I brought the tools,” Edi added as she put the crate down.

“Let’s start.” Jane told them.

AN: okay I know adding original characters and aliens might not be liked too much but… it will make sense I promise.


	9. Chapter 9 ~ A lecture at Grissom

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 9 ~ A lecture at Grissom.

Jane groaned as she walked into her office, “Why did I agree to this again?” She asked two months after marrying Liara, Jane had finally agreed to be the human representative on the council. The cavate being she would do it for no longer than ten years. Less than six months in and she was already wanting out.

Thea chuckled as she sat on a couch, Bakara joined her with a sigh. Jane went over to a small kitchenette and started to pour everyone drinks.

“You know for such a short-lived species you would think they wouldn’t want to waste time…” Bakara remarked.

“You don’t know the half of it… I’ve known him for years; he’s always been like that in fact… I think he is getting worse.” Thea told them both.

“I am looking forward to going home.” Bakara remarked, as of twenty minutes ago the council was officially out of session for the next three weeks. It allowed the Council members to return home to access their people, talk to their governments. It also acted as a holiday for them in some ways, gave them time to be with friends and family.

Jane brought over drinks. “Afraid Wrex has taught Mordin something strange or lost her again?” she asked as she put the drinks down and sat in the chair opposite them. The Citadel was half repaired, enough to move it back to the Serpent Nebular and make it a hub again but, it was not yet able to support the numbers that once lived here, or the numbers which had been rescued from it once they realised there were survivors.

“Lost her… that girl’s like Thresher maw, take your eyes off her for a moment and she vanishes.” Bakara took her large cup and sipped at it.

“Sorry I can’t stop by Tuchanka this time…” Jane started to say but Bakara waved her off.

“You are going to help Jack at Grissom, two Krogan were admitted into the Ascension programme…” Bakara told her.

“I will show them a biotic headbutt then.” Jane told her and Bakara grinned. “You’re still coming with me, right?” She turned to Thea.

“Yes, since you are swinging pass Omega to get Samara and Aria I thought why not.” Thea stated.

“Yeah… that is going to be fun, Samara has relaxed a lot but… the code still governs her.” Jane sighed.

Thea nodded, “I’ve always thought the code too ridged… and that is the reason there are so few Justicars.”

“You don’t think Samara will kill Aria?” Bakara asked.

Jane shook her head, “As long as Aria doesn’t hurt an innocent before her, she is willing to turn a blind eye to her activities. That’s what she told Aria at least.” Jane checked her omni-tool. “We will be leaving in four hours.” Jane reminded her. “Is Neophae coming as well?” she asked referring to Thea’s personal assistant.

Thea shook her head, “She’s dating at the moment, so she is going on a little holiday.”

“Good for her, Liara was getting a little concerned.” Jane sat back in her chair to relax a little.

Thea frowned. “Why?”

“Neophae has been… down…” Jane tried to explain and since everyone in the room knew Liara was the Shadow Broker she didn’t mind opening up.

“I have noticed it as well,” Thea told her.

Jane nodded, “Although Liara knew about you two she didn’t learn about it from Neophae.”

Thea groaned, fully aware of how Liara had found out about her and Aria. “I still haven’t forgiven Aria for that stunt.”

“Neophae had managed to play a very fine game with the information she released. But she never said anything about you two being a thing. Neophae has been afraid that the Shadow Broker was going to send assassins. Liara had to pull a fast one on her, convinced her that the Broker was disappointed, but, Neophae’s intel was still important. That the Broker wanted to know what the council was up to and her information was detailed and accurate.”

Thea frowned, “Perhaps I should tell her, that I knew she worked for the Broker all along. Pretend to get her out.”

“But she’s been better the last few weeks. Right?” Jane asked and Thea nodded. “Liara implied that the Broker had other agents, close to Aria and that’s where they got their information from.”

“Um… this is Aria…” Bakara stated.

“I said had,” Jane corrected and the other two women chuckled and continued to drink their drinks as they unwound a little from a busy day.

****

Jane went to the exit near the cockpit shortly before docking. She was in a set of work blues which she had changed into the moment she was onboard the Normandy.

“Commander I would feel better if you took at least a gun with you… this is Omega.” Her concerned Gunnery Chief complained. She was a Turian and was recommended by Garrus to join the crew as a weapons expert.

“Good luck with that,” Samantha called as she carried a report to Joker.

“I don’t need a gun… considering word would have spread the moment the Normandy approached, the gangs tend to lay low when I am around.” Jane explained. “On top of that, Samara is on Omega. The gangs will be treading a…” the hatch was open and one of Aria’s men were waiting with Aria’s bags. “Bray,” Jane greeted the Batarian in a friendly tone, she was after all on good terms with Aria’s most trusted people.

“Shepard.” Bray lifted the bags and walked them onto the ship, put them down then came to stand next to Jane.

“So, you or Grizz coming?” Jane asked as she started to leave the Normandy.

“Neither, Aria wants us here and considering whose going with you…” Bray explained and glanced back at Jane’s shadow. “Who is the newbie?”

“Trix, Garrus recommended her to be my Arms master.” Jane explained, “She also works as my head of security. So, she was very concerned when she realised, I fully intend to go get Aria without a gun.”

Bray shook his head, “You and two Justicars…” he noticed her confusion. “There are two Justicars here. The gangs know you and Samara won’t go after them if they lay low and don’t do anything stupid. The other Justicar… they aren’t sure about her.”

After a short walk to Afterlife Jane just made her way to Aria’s office, she nodded hello to Grizz who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs and gestured for Trix to stay with him, even Bray staid down.

Jane trotted upstairs and around the next set.

Aria was sprawled out on her couch looking every bit the ruthless Queen the Terminus system knew her to be and completely unconcerned about the two Justicars on her station.

“Aria,” Jane greeted in a formal way, people tended to assume that the reason Aria was close to Jane was because of Thea and not so much because the two were actually close so they tended to play that way in front of the general public.

Aria got to her feet, “About time.”

“Shepard,” a familiar voice greeted.

“Jane,” as did a much more familiar voice.

Jane turned and smiled as Samara and Nhaimi stood. “Hi, Samara, Nhaimi.” She greeted both. “So… Samara is supposed to be here, I am not sure why you are Nhaimi.”

“I heard what Samara was doing when I dropped off someone who thinks they’re Ardat-Yakshi to the Community. They are being tested there and if they have traits or are Ardat-Yakshi they can stay if not… well… I’m not too sure myself there. Very few volunteer themselves to us like she did.”

“Maybe she was scared,” Jane explained. “There is still a lot of people out there with distrust issues when it comes to Ardat-Yakshi. It will take time to show them that most just want to live in peace. Until then, yeah you are going to get some scared people handing themselves in until they learn they aren’t.”

Nhaimi nodded seeing what Jane had. “I decided I needed a break so I thought maybe I can tag along and help with the lessons.” She finished.

Jane nodded, “Sure, more the merrier.” She turned to Aria, “Your bondmate is on the Normandy, just a warning because I know you hate surprises.”

Aria nodded, “yeah… such a shock when Nhaimi showed up a day after Samara did. I had to pretend to keep an eye on them both.”

“I swore to Aria, that as long as I didn’t see anything, I wouldn’t action anything and I have been careful about where I go.” Nhaimi added, she was also sure that was what Samara had promised Aria.

Aria grinned, “Should have seen the leader of the Blood Pack piss himself when he came to give me my cut and saw those two there.”

“Is it the idiot I did a biotic headbutt on?” Jane asked.

Aria gave her a distant look as she remembered the incident where Jane accidently did her first biotic headbutt. It was glorious to see that Krogan battle master knocked flying and out cold, he still had the dent in his head crest from it. “Yep, still has the dent too.”

“Probably points to it and says he survived a biotic headbutt from me.” Jane stated. “Doubt he will now though.”

“So, you’ve figured out how to do it properly.” Nhaimi stated, “your normal headbutts hurt, I do not want to feel a biotic one.”

Jane chuckled as Aria led the group from the room. Trix stood a little straighter and waited to fall in behind the group.

“Who’s the stiff?” Aria asked.

“Gunnery Chief Trixtan Rix although she prefers Trix, she’s my arms master and security officer.” Jane explained.

“Rix…” Nhaimi said as she glanced back. “Are you related to Avitus Rix?” she asked, although no longer a Spectre she had kept an eye on the new ones, if only to gauge if they would be threats, she was still pissed she had missed what was going on with Seran.

“My uncle.” Trix answered.

“You need a security officer?” Aria questioned.

Jane gave Aria a I will hurt you look. “No… but… I can’t do C-sec around me all the time, you know the only reason they let Thea come without a guard is because me and my people are around her. So yes, I have a security officer to appease C-sec.”

“Not that she ever actually listens to me,” Trix muttered just loud enough to be heard.

The group laughed.

“I see you are still new to Jane and her ways… you’ll adjust.” Aria stated.

Samara hummed, “It’s more like you’ll just let go of all the rules and just go with the flow.”

“So that is what Traynor was going on about,” Trix remarked and the others nodded.

They got to the Normandy quickly.

“Hey… just curious… am I ever getting that Piranha back?” Jane asked, as she gestured to the weapon strapped to Aria’s back. She had leant it to her before they went to take back Omega and hadn’t gotten it back.

“Hey, you offered, I took, besides…” Aria pulled it off and showed it to Jane, “I’ve mod-ed the crap out of it.”

Jane took it to have a look, “Expanded mag, stabilizer, ultralights… nice…”

Trix reached forward and took it to look it over. She had spent the last couple of weeks familiarising herself with every weapon and piece of armour Jane had and it was quite the collection. Jane even had some weapons she had never seen before. She had also spent a considerable amount of time rebuilding Jane’s collection, upgrading them with everything Jane had licences and plans for.

“Jane’s personal Piranha has better specs,” Trix told Aria as she handed the weapon back to its owner.

“Really,” Aria remarked, Bray and Grizz chuckled.

“If it vanishes, I will know who took it,” Trix warned before she walked off.

“But you will let me look at it right?” Aria asked to Trix’s back.

Trix paused and turned back. “Of course… since you are a guest. But if it vanishes… I’ll know you took it.”

Aria chuckled, it seemed like a challenge now, to take the Piranha and somehow manage to prove she hadn’t touched it. She turned to her guys, “Look after Omega for me, let me know of any problems and when I come back, I’ll stomp on them.”

Grizz and Bray nodded, “Yes Boss.” They said together and a few moments later the outer hatch closed and they all walked into the ship.

“Trix… I’ll give you a heads up… Aria will get that shotgun and she will somehow do it in a way to prove she didn’t do it. That’s what Aria does, she cheats… so just give it to her.” Jane told her.

Trix’s mandibles twitched a little in a frown. “But… that is N7 gear.” She complained.

Aria took off her jacket and turned around to show off part of her well-hidden N7 tattoo. “Anyone who actively served with Jane on any of her galaxy saving missions was given N7 designation, I fought with her in the Battle of London.”

“You are _Alpha_.” Trix surmised, she had familiarised herself with everyone that was considered Normandy Team or Crew, past and present. The only one that wasn’t easily recognisable was _Alpha_ and that was simply because no one had managed to get good footage of her during the Battle of London and when questioned Hackett just called them _Alpha_ but had refused all other questions about them other than the fact they were an Asari Commando that Jane was friends with. Even the Asari hadn’t released Aria’s name, choosing not to earn Aria’s ire. “Sorry about that, as a Normandy Team member, you are allowed to take any weapons or armour from the armoury as long as you sign it out.”

“At least let me try to pull one over you… I am after all the Queen of Omega; I have a reputation to uphold.” Aria told her, kind of wishing she hadn’t told the young Turian that she was a N7.

Trix considered Aria for a moment then glanced to Jane who just grinned. “Okay… I’ll do everything in my power to keep you from taking it. If by the time we return you to Omega and you still haven’t… liberated it. You owe me a hundred credits plus the cost of the weapon.”

“And if I manage to do it?” Aria asked.

“I’ll deal with all the paperwork and owe you a hundred credits.” Trix answered.

“Oh, I like her… she’ll fit in just fine.” Aria remarked.

“See I told you… you’ll just learn to go with the flow.” Samara told her, she glanced to Jane. “Normal place?” she asked.

“Yep, normal place is all yours.” Jane told her.

“Come I’ll show you the best view… well second-best view on the ship.” Samara told Nhaimi.

“Where’s the best view?” Nhaimi asked.

“The captain’s quarters, Jane has a skylight over her bed.” Samara answered. “She also has a fish tank, a hamster, a very impressive collection of model ships, some Prothean artefacts, a battered old helmet and the head of a husk.” She explained.

“Live head of a husk…” Samantha corrected, “Vega raced to save it and jammed it into the Faraday cage. Idiot.”

“The head still lives?” Nhaimi asked and Jane nodded.

“Yep… every now and again Kahlee asks to look at it and I bring it out then when she is done, I get it back. By order of the Council it stays on the Normandy.” Jane explained. “Joker, all present and accounted for, take us to Grissom please.”

“Aye Commander, hey, since Aria is here does that make us pirates now.” He asked with an excited and teasing voice.

“I’m ignoring you…” Jane told him.

****

Aria frowned as she watched Jane lift two battered duffle bags and started to walk off with them down the ramp. The Normandy was parked in a large hanger bay since they would be staying for a while as well as assisting in training and courses. “Seriously that woman needs to get some style.”

Liara sighed, “She has style, we’ve seen it, the dress Kasumi gave her, the suit,” a heated look filled her eyes, “But for the most part… Jane lives simple.”

“I am pretty sure if Jane could get away with wearing alliance work blues to council sessions she would.” Thea said.

“In a heartbeat,” Jane told them as she turned around and started to walk backwards. “Also, a lot less hassle trying to figure out what to wear.” She turned back around to walk normally.

“I help her with that by the way.” Liara remarked.

“You’re late!” Jack called as she walked forward.

“Are not,” Jane told her, she put her bags down and gave Jack a hug. “Good to see you Jack.”

“Thanks for doing this, it’s a talented group… but…” Jack started to explain as she released Jane.

“Cocky little shits.” Samara remarked using the language Jack was known for, at least when she wasn’t around students.

Jack groaned, “I miss my last class. But Hackett needed them in the field and Kahlee said she had a new batch for me. I have a Turian, two Krogans, two Asari and a bunch of humans in my class.”

Jane turned to Thea, “Asari…”

Thea nodded, “we are trying something new. More cross species training, working together to create a future… I am pretty sure that was your intention.”

Jane picked up her bags. “So where are we sleeping?”

“Sound proofings been fixed, so, near Miranda and my rooms.” Jack replied.

“It better be fixed…” Samantha told her. “Listening to you two go at it when I’ve been single for so long…” she complained.

“Do we need to get you laid? What about Chambers, she swings any which way?” Jack asked as she led the group.

Samantha sighed, she had met Kelly, nice woman, hot, but…

“Mm… you like a little danger…” Aria remarked.

“No…” Samantha told them.

Liara sighed, she didn’t want to ask another about why they were attracted to her bondmate but Samantha had definitely made a pass at Jane on more than one occasion, “Then what attracted you to Jane?”

Samantha blushed as the whole group stopped and turned to her. When she realised no one was letting this go she sighed and rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand. “Smart, funny, kind, she listened to me, never got frustrated when I made a fool of myself or went off on a tangent.”

“And she’s hot,” Aria added when Samantha finally finished.

“Very,” Samantha agreed and her blushed deepened, “Sorry Liara.”

Liara chuckled, “You are not the first person to have their eyes on what’s mine.”

“Mine… a tad possessive aren’t you Liara.” Aria teased.

“Coming from one of the many people who has made a pass at my bondmate…” Liara said.

Aria grinned. “Of course… but I also made a pass at you… so about that foursome?”

No one in the group was surprised about Aria’s request for a foursome, she did it often enough so it wasn’t that surprising, when she would bring it up however, that was usually where the surprise came from.

Jane noticed Liara take a breath. “Don’t do it… she cheats…” she warned, she was fully aware of when Aria had made a pass at Liara… multiple as she was pretty sure all the foursome requests were so that she could sexually tease Liara. Although she also knew that Aria wanted to sleep with her as she had asked and Aria had replied with sometimes it’s fun to top a top.

“No; no… I’ve got it…” Liara assured.

Aria’s grin turned almost predatory.

“Never in the Milky way galaxy.” Liara stated firmly.

The predatory grin never left Aria’s face. “Challenge accepted. Just need to trick you and Jane into the nearest piece of Dark space not considered a part of the Milky way galaxy.”

“See… told you… not to give her conditions.” Jane told her wife before she started to walk off again, when Aria finally figured that out, she would just have to go with it as would Liara as she was the idiot. Liara held a hand to her face as she finally realised her folly.

Thea sighed with a little shake of her head started to follow Jane.

“How did it go from me getting laid to Aria setting up a foursome… and now I can’t stop imagining that!” Samantha complained.

“Damn… now I can’t stop thinking about Aria toping Jane…” Jack complained. “You know you could make a shit load if you record that. More since Thea will be involved.”

Thea jerked around to stare at Jack. “Me?” she squeaked, with a cough she asked again, “Me?”

Aria chuckled, “I’ve always said you’re sexy in and out of your clothes… I am sure others agree with me.”

“Can we change the subject please.” Liara demanded.

“Back to finding Samantha a girlfriend?” Jane asked as she gave her wife a slightly irritated look, Liara shivered as she knew what would be coming to her once they were safely locked in their room.

“So… bet… whether or not Liara will be able to sit tomorrow?” Aria asked Jack who started to laugh.

Samara sighed and glanced to Nhaimi who was just watching the whole scene with an amused smile. “You know you would think Aria would have matured by now… she is old enough to be a Matriarch, right?” Nhaimi asked.

Samara shrugged. “No idea.”

“A human saying for you… aging is mandatory… growing up is optional.” Jane declared.

Aria considered it for a moment, “A good saying.”

“Can we just eat already… you did get the list I sent of my allergies.” Samantha complained as they started to move again.

****

A mixed group of students chatted excitedly as they made their way to the practical room. Their instructor Jack had told them she had managed to get some special instructors for a week and that they would be working on their biotic powers.

They walked into the large room and noticed a group sitting calmly in the middle of the room. Biotic fields hummed around them. “Your late!” Jack declared not once disrupting her focus.

“Its fine for today Jack… tomorrow however…” Samara remarked, as one they opened their eyes and dispersed their fields. Everyone got to their feet and stood in a line before the students, Thea who was with them left the field, she was getting better with her biotics but she was not in their league. They had already done a light work out before their meditation.

“Let me introduce you to your instructors for the week. Justicars Samara and Nhaimi, Aria T’Loak, Dr Liara T’Soni, Dr Miranda Lawson and Shepard.” Jack gestured to each person as they said their names. The student’s eyes just kept getting wider as they noticed who Jack had managed to bring here for them. “Now, I had to pull a lot of strings and cash in favours to get them here to teach you lot. As a group collectively and individually they have forgotten more about Biotics then you guys currently remember. When they speak… you listen.”

Jack took a deep breath, “While they are here you will train like these guys do, which means you will be here for early morning training, we will then do condition training, individual skills training and finally sparing. There will be meal breaks and…”

Karin walked in with a medical kit and a book, taking a seat she put down her kit and then started to read.

“As you can see, we will have a doctor here or medic at all times so you will be expected to train hard.” Jack told them. “Now… two laps and stretch.” Jack ordered and the group started to move.

“Armour up time then.” Liara remarked and Jack nodded, they were going to give a practical demonstration first then they were going to do a skills test with the students to see where they sat. they walked off to change into armour.

Jane opened her bag and pulled out her armour.

“You still look buff, I see being a councillor hasn’t made you lax,” Aria remarked.

“She works out every day and still has pull up, push up and crunch competitions with James two or three times a week.” Liara explained.

“You love it,” Aria told her. “Thea loves my muscles as well.”

They put their armour on, Aria was wearing well-made but slightly used and modified Commando armour with a large Omega symbol painted on her chest, Samara and Nhaimi were wearing their normal armour while Jane, Jack, Miranda and Liara were wearing their custom N7 armour.

“You know… I don’t say this often but damn Miranda… you have one sexy arse.” Aria remarked.

“She does, doesn’t she.” Jack said proudly before she gave it a playful slap even though it was encased in armour. They walked back into the large training room to see students stretching.

“The two Krogan tried to skip a lap, I warned them against it.” Karin said barely looking up from her book.

Jack frowned at the two Krogan.

“Want me to headbutt them?” Jane asked, she had found that the quickest way to get a head strong Krogan to listen and respect her was to headbutt them, or point a gun at them… both worked most of the time.

“Maybe later.” Jack told her as they walked over to the students. “We are going to spar now, watch, absorb and learn.” She told them as she pointed to the benches.

“The numbers are odd…” Nhaimi remarked.

“Jane can fight twice…” Jack supplied without hesitation.

“I can…” Jane agreed.

“Well while you guys figure it out, Liara and I are going to fight.” Miranda told the others and gestured for them to get out. Jack glanced over to her students as Miranda and Liara put on helmets hoping they would understand that this sparing was going to be serious.

Samara however was the one who got their attention, “Miranda is a genus at Warps, Liara however… I’ve never seen someone throw a more powerful Singularity.” She told them and watched as one of the Asari students scoffed. Jack went to speak but Samara stopped her and shook her head, they were going to get a shock today, best to let it just happen and not warn them.

Liara glanced over to the scoff, with barely a flick of her wrist she sent a singularity at Miranda who dodged it at the last moment and threw a warp. Liara used a barrier to block it and then both women really started to fight. Jack had already assured them that the field should be able to deal with some pretty strong biotic blasts as the Geth had made it to be able to withstand repeated powerful biotic attacks.

Samara was keeping an eye on the timer ten minutes was the max time for a spar, it was what they had agreed to. She glanced to the students and noticed the Asari who had scoffed had lost a little colour in their face as she watched the two fight.

Samara blew the whistle stopping the fight. Miranda took off her helmet, “Hey that last move was new.” She told Liara.

Liara nodded, “I train with Jane daily.” She answered after she removed her helmet.

Miranda nodded, “Make sense your singularities seem stronger than before.” They both walked over to Karin to get checked over.

“But you’ve been working on your Warp right, they seem to come faster.” Liara stated.

“Train with Jack daily.” Miranda answered.

Jack and Aria walked into the field, as they walked, they put on helmets.

“Aria’s lash… lethal…” Nhaimi stated.

“Yeah… so’s Jack’s Shockwave.” Jane explained.

Samara grinned, “Jack is considered one of the most powerful human biotics…”

“Doesn’t Jane hold that title now?” Nhaimi asked.

“Raw power wise… Jack still beats me, I’m precision power, she is raw power.” Jane explained then winced as Jack hadn’t managed to avoid Aria’s lash and she was sent hard into the wall. “Ouch,” Jane remarked as biotics rippled around Jack and she was back on her feet. She ran right at Aria and unleashed a massive shockwave that sent Aria flying.

Jane glanced to Samara concerned but Samara let them go a little longer although she was ready to step in. Aria was back on her feet and sent out a Flare. Samara put the whistle to her lips and blew, ending the fight but she was ready to step in. Jack got up and took off her helmet, “Samara… it was just getting…”

“Dangerous…” Samara interrupted. “If one of you were to kill the other even by accident, we would have to avenge you. The Code demands it. Personally, I do not fancy a death match with either of you.”

“Neither do I.” Nhaimi added.

Aria clapped Jack on the shoulder after she took off her helmet. “It was a good fight though, how is your back.”

“Fucking killing me.” Jack answered then turned to Jane, “Seriously, you spar with her all the time why didn’t you warn me those hurt.”

Jane shrugged. “I guess I just don’t feel it at the time.”

“Try getting hit by a half speed charge…” Aria consoled her.

“Nah… I’ve been hit by one of those, yours looked more painful.” Jack told her as they moved over to Karin.

Jane got to her feet and glanced over to the students who were sitting in stunned shock, Jack and Aria’s fight was powerful and only lasted a few minutes. The fight before that was strategic, Liara and Miranda used their powers with precision, not relying too much on power but tactics.

“So… who am I fighting first?” Jane asked before she put on her helmet and bounced into the ring.

“Me,” Nhaimi answered, unlike most Justicars Nhaimi had started out as a Commando and then a Spectre before eventually becoming a Justicar, with a Turian father she had learnt hand combat as a child and was a physical fighter as well as Biotic.

Nhaimi lifted her helmet and put it on. Aria sat with the others sucking down power packs, as of yet no one had seen a spar between Nhaimi and Jane before. “Let’s see how much you’ve grown.” She told Jane.

Both took hand fighting stances.

“Wait…” Aria glanced to Samara, “Physical fighter…”

Samara nodded, “Why I suggested Jane train with her. Nhaimi’s biotics are tied with her martial arts. She can still use normal biotic powers, but she also has biotics fused into her hand fighting. Her techniques are probably how Jane figured out how to do a biotic headbutt.”

The loud thump had Aria cursing that she had taken her eyes off the sparing pair. Her eyes took in Jane using a spinning kick, biotics rippled around the kicking leg.

“That’s a focused shockwave, right?” Jack asked a moment before Jane’s shockwave kick hit a forearm block backed up with a barrier. The resulting clash of power pushed both fighters away.

“I didn’t think Jane could use shockwave.” Miranda remarked as again Nhaimi and Jane threw punches and blocks.

“She can’t use it conventionally like Jack can, neither can Nhaimi, but they can both use it in a focused way like that.” Liara explained.

“That is an interesting way to use barrier,” Samara remarked.

“I can used focused shockwaves… but why do Jane’s and Nhaimi’s look… stronger.” Jack remarked, occasionally she wrapped her fists in shockwaves when she was fighting.

“Ask Nhaimi, I am sure she will teach you the difference.” Samara stated before she winced as Jane was sent to the ground with a powerful throw. Jane landed and used the momentum to roll back onto her feet and charged at Nhaimi. Nhaimi moved and went to kick at Jane’s leg, using a little shockwave on the foot currently on the ground Jane was sent up into the air, missing the trip, twisting her body, she brought a fist down on Nhaimi with another focused shockwave around her fist. Nhaimi had no chance to dodge or block as Jane’s charge was still partially in effect. She just managed to put up a barrier but it was hasty and only just managed to negate part of the blow, she was still sent to the floor. Only years of experience had her rolling out of the way and back onto her feet as Jane followed her.

Aria glanced to the students then back to the fight, most had gone deathly pale, their eyes wide and the two Asari had covered their mouths in shock. “It’s interesting though, Jane was trained and accessed as an Infiltrator, she’s a deadly shot with a sniper rifle, but who would begin to imagine she can fight like that.”

“She’s N7,” Miranda stated then braced herself as a wave of discharged power hit them, most of the students were sent from their seats.

Karin fixed her hair but didn’t once stop her reading.

Samara glanced to the stopwatch; it was getting close to time. She put the whistle in her mouth just as Jane grabbed Nhaimi and went to do a biotic headbutt. Just before Jane threw it; the timer hit ten minutes and Samara blew the whistle. Jane released her biotics and Nhaimi’s shoulders as Nhaimi sighed in relief.

“I am so glad that whistle came… don’t know if I could’ve handled that last move.” Nhaimi remarked as they both walked over to Karin. “And what was with that aerial move?” she asked as she took off her helmet.

“I just came up with it so… I don’t know… would love to see a recording of that fight.” Jane said as she took off her helmet and let Karin check her over.

“You’re good,” Karin told her before she turned to Nhaimi.

Jane quickly sucked down a power pouch before she walked back onto the field and put her helmet back on. Samara tossed the timer to Nhaimi and then joined Jane.

“All warmed up?” Samara asked.

Jane nodded; she would have to fight a little differently with Samara as she had a different style. After an intense battle of throwing powers at each other until Nhaimi blew the whistle calling an end to it. Samara turned to Jane as she took off her helmet. “Thank you for not fighting me as you would fight Nhaimi.”

Jane shrugged as she took off her helmet, “Wouldn’t have shown them what can be done. But next time we spar… I will use all of my skills.”

Samara smiled, “Looks like I have work to do then.” Together they went to Karin and were checked over. Karin handed both of them power pouches once she was done, two to Samara and three to Jane.

They sucked them down as they moved back over to Jack who had taken the chance to get out of her armour, the others had just left to do the same.

“Get out of your armour and then we’ll put the little shits through their paces.” Jack told the pair, Jane and Samara nodded and went to change back into workout clothes. Once that was done, they walked back out and joined Jack.

“I hope you all learnt something from the fights you just witnessed,” Jack continued her lecture. “Biotics are as diverse as the people who use them, I can teach you, make you strong, but you are ultimately the key factor. How much effort you put in and how much you train will determine if you even get close to the people, I brought here to teach you let alone surpass them.”

“Speech,” Jane stated with a cough and Jack turned and glared at her a little but held her tongue, she tried not to swear too much around the students.

“Alright, we’ve shown you what you will eventually be able to do, now you show us what you can do right now.” Samara stated and Jack nodded.

*

Jane put her dinner tray down at the same table the students had sat at, the others all gathered around and sat as well. Jack turned to her students. “So… have fun today guys?”

Some of them gave Jack a surprised look, fun… she considered that fun…

Jane chuckled, “The fights were fun.” She said trying to lead the students away from the torture they had been put through after watching them spar. They had gone through every skill they had, checked them and then went after every flaw to iron them out. It had been an exhausting day and then they had been expected to do cool down training and meditation. Unsurprisingly, none of the students had managed to manifest their biotic fields during meditation, it was considered a high tier skill to maintain a consistent unfluctuating biotic field for more than several minutes. Commandos and huntresses couldn’t do it for more than a few minutes at least, Justicars and older Matriarchs could but that was a given for them. The fact Jack and their instructors had informed them they could all do it for hours at a time had shocked them but Jack had explained that ultimately if they wanted to get strong, they had to learn this.

“The fights… were awesome.” The slightly smaller Krogan said.

“What clan are you?” Jane asked.

“Kariss,” the smaller Krogan answered, “Kariss Darmet.” He told her.

“And you?” Jane asked the Krogan with the black clan markings, “Your clan Jorgal right?”

He nodded, “Jorgal Mhar.”

Jane watched them both, Jack had already told her she was getting some grief from the two young Krogan. Jane’s answer was to tell her to headbutt or beat them up, show her dominance, “Bakara told me Wrex had asked two young talented biotic Krogan to come train here under someone he considers his krantt. He will not be pleased when I tell him that you are squandering your opportunity. Heck… if you don’t shape up… I’ll show you what a fully powered biotic headbutt feels like and then he’ll come and toss you around like Cerberus soldiers once you wake.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen a half powered headbutt send a Battle Master flying, knocked him out cold for two days and he still has the dent in his crest…” Aria told the pair, a healthy dose of fear from a superior warrior generally worked for younger Krogan.

“That would have been glorious to watch,” Nhaimi stated, she didn’t have a lot of good experiences with Krogan mercenaries but that was slowing changing now that Krogan had a real future again.

Aria grinned warming up a little to the other Justicar, “It was.”

The two Krogans focused on their meals, they hadn’t known Jack was Urdnot Wrex’s krantt, they knew Jane was though, and she was friends with Urdnot Bakara. They had to start taking this seriously or risk getting their arses kicked and their standings in their own clans’ fall.

Samara turned to the two Asari and frowned at them for a moment.

“I understand, I will do better.” The pale blue skinned Asari said before Samara could say anything.

“As will I,” the lavender coloured Asari added.

“Good, I’ve trained with Jack… she is more than capable of training you, of turning you into truly capable Biotics, if you actually take in her training.” Samara finished; she had sensed a little bit of elitism around the two young Asari. Granted Asari had been using Biotics a lot longer than most races but humans were inventive as to how they used their biotics, even she was learning new tricks for her powers and she was sure Nhaimi, Aria and Liara were learning as well as they were all growing stronger every time they sparred with Jane, Jack or Miranda.

The humans and Turian in the group had taken the lessons this afternoon seriously unlike the other four so they weren’t called out.

Ra’yven walked over, “Hi can I join you?” she asked and when she got no dissention she sat across from Jane. Jane felt the tingle of Ra’yven reaching out with her technology to connect to hers, with a thought Jane allowed the connection and some of the tightness around Ra’yven’s eyes left.

“It must be hard; you are unable to connect to anyone like you normally would.” Jane told her.

Ra’yven nodded, “I am learning to live with the silence but… it is hard. You are getting better though, at communicating with your implants.”

“Are they still growing, you said they have a personality like a child.” Jane asked, she couldn’t fully communicate with her implants and technology like Ra’yven could and Ra’yven had explained it was more to do with the age of the implants and when they ‘awoke’. The People, were born with technology within them or had it implanted immediately after birth. The technology grew with its host, learnt with its host.

Ra’yven grinned, “They are only a few years old; they will continue to grow. You are trying to talk to them using the methods I taught you?”

Jane nodded, “Twice a day at least and whenever I get a few moments.”

Ra’yven nodded, “They will learn faster that way, are they talking back yet in a way you can understand?”

Jane shook her head.

“You can talk to your implants?” Kim, one of the human students asked.

Jane nodded, “Yeah… that is a long-complicated story, suffice to say I am a very weird person.”

“So, fucking weird.” Jack muttered.

“Jack… I thought we had spoken about your use of language?” Kahlee asked as she had walked pass just when Jack muttered.

“We did… but it’s true!” Jack stated.

“Kahlee, other than saying shit… Jack hasn’t used any other foul language today,” Samara defended.

Kahlee frowned, “Fine…” she turned to Jane. “Jane… you are still coming by after dinner, right?”

Jane nodded then jerked and turned back to Ra’yven. “Hey… what was that? It felt like you poked my liver?”

Ra’yven frowned, “Sorry, they wanted to show me something… they have built a new implant.”

Jane nodded, “A place where they can make micro-bots.”

“Did you suggest that or did they?” Ra’yven asked.

“Karin did actually after she finished analysing your scans, she said I don’t have a comparable saturation of micro-bots in my body and since introducing new micro-bots into my body might cause an immune response it might be better to see if my current technology can create a way to make more. So, I asked them to make an implant that will allow my micro-bots to replicate.” Jane explained. “I have to drink the same thing you do daily now as well to help them.”

Ra’yven nodded, “It possibly explains why they are definitely out of the toddler stage and are closer to their preteen stage so quickly.” She frowned, “My people would be completely fascinated by you if they still existed, I know I am.” She turned to Liara, “But not in a sexual way…” she corrected as it had sounded wrong in her head.

Liara chuckled, “It’s okay, Jane is a lot like Aria, they’re everyone’s type. Jane even gets emails from Tuchanka, breeding requests.”

Jane groaned; those requests were so irritating.

****

Jane walked through Grissom with Kahlee, she had been excused from the afternoon sparring sessions so that she could work with Ra’yven on her technomancy. Nhaimi was more than capable to coach the physical way Jane and she tended to fight.

“I like what you’ve done.” Jane said, the school had changed a lot since the time she and her team had stormed it to rescue students.

“Thank you, it was an opportune time to make changes.” Kahlee explained, as Dean of the school had a lot of say over its running so when she wanted to make changes no one could say no. however, her changes had added to the school and allowed more people to come.

Kahlee took her into a large work room where teams were working on projects. Jane smiled as she recognised someone and made a beeline to them. David was working on a project with a Salarian.

David noticed her, “the square root of 906.1 equals…”

“30.1,” Jane answered with a smile.

“Hello Commander Shepard,” David replied.

“It’s good to see you are well David.” Jane told him.

“Yes… I like it here…” David answered.

“Still counting?” Jane asked.

“Yes…” David answered, “I counted the days I waited after the Reapers died.”

“I’m sorry you had to count,” Jane told him honestly, she knew he had counted the days until it was announced she had survived.

“It is fine… Octavia said no news was good news… then you were alive… so I changed my counting… to when I would return here.” he explained.

“Are you okay here, with the Geth?” Jane asked concerned.

“Goliath, Buddy and Sienna are my friends,” David told her.

“I explained to them what happened to David before he came back, they were mortified and for a few days they did their best to not be where he was. However, as things happen, David and they ended up getting along.” Kahlee explained.

“Good…” Jane stated.

“You are going to the Alien?” he asked.

“Do you not get along with Ra’yven?” she questioned.

“No… I like her… I told her what happened… she seemed… angry… for me… she has interesting ideas.” He told her.

Jane nodded, “I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Thank you,” David told her as he went back to work.

Kahlee continued to lead Jane and Jane noticed that students would stop and look at her as she moved pass them. “Thanks for letting me see David.” Jane told her.

Kahlee waved her off, “Although Grissom has guardianship of David, I understand why you feel responsible for him. Steven gave me access to the reports so that I could completely understand what happened to him. I know his brother is currently working for the Alliance but still… he should be in jail for what he did to his brother.”

“Does he try to contact David?” Jane asked.

Kahlee shook her head, “One of the conditions which has kept him out of Jail. He had to sign over guardianship of David and have no contact.”

“It is nice though… seeing all these different people working together.” Jane told her and Kahlee nodded.

“After your speech… it seemed… wrong to keep Grissom just for humans, so I opened enrolment to all races. I have 20 Quarians, 12 Krogan, 4 Batarians, 6 Asari, 8 Salarian, 2 Drell and 1 Hanar.”

“No Volus, Vorcha or Elcor?” Jane asked.

Kahlee shook her head, “At least not this enrolment, I am expecting a lot more next year. I am pretty sure most weren’t expecting us to be serious about allowing anyone to enrol as long as they met the minimum standards for the selected courses.”

They left the large workroom and down a different hallway.

“We didn’t get a chance to talk about it last night, how is Ra’yven fitting in?” Jane asked.

Kahlee sighed, “Not as easily as I had hoped, she tries… she just finds it hard to relate to people outside of a lab situation.”

Jane nodded, “She doesn’t know what to talk about, doesn’t help that she was treated like a god before all this so she never really learnt common ways to interact with people.”

“She gets along okay with you lot from the Normandy.” Kahlee stated, it was true, Ra’yven had no issues talking to the people she met on the Normandy about everything and anything not related to her technology or her people.

Jane chuckled, “Yeah… but we are by no means normal. It is probably the only reason she fits with us.”

Kahlee considered that for a moment before she sighed. “I forgot that, only your brand of oddballs could have saved the galaxy.”

“That… and have you spoken with Javik before?” Jane asked innocently.

Kahlee groaned, she had tried once to talk to him, it had not gone well, the man was an arsehole, whether he was that way because of how he was raised or if that was just his personality was anyone’s guess. “Yeah… I tried once.”

Jane nodded, “Well, we are used to dealing with ancient Aliens and incorporating them into our lives. Ra’yven however was pleasant and wanted to learn and be our friend, Javik however, is still a dick… but… I can’t really blame him.”

They walked into a work room, Ra’yven smiled at them. “Hi…”

Kahlee glanced between the two, “Don’t blow up the lab,” she stated before she turned and went to leave.

“Wait… you blew up your lab?” Jane asked in a slightly teasing tone of voice.

“That wasn’t me… it was someone else who came in here and fiddled with my stuff.” Ra’yven replied. She gestured to a machine, “Turn it on and get it working.”

“What does it do?” Jane asked.

“Hopefully not blow up,” Ra’yven teased back and Jane smiled.

****

Jane and Ra’yven carried a large crate into the training room. Jack walked over, “Hey Ra’yven, thanks for this.”

Ra’yven smiled. “It’s fine, I haven’t managed to create a VI to control them just yet, so I will have to control them myself for now.”

“How many can you control at one time?” Jack asked as they put down the crate, reaching in she pulled out a sphere a little bigger than softball.

“I can control a hundred but can’t do anything too complex with them, just get them into the air and organise formations. I assume you want complex, moving and dodging targets… so… depending on how complex between five and ten, the more complex the less I can control.”

Jack nodded. “How many do you have in here?”

“Couple hundred, Goliath is brining another crate with another couple hundred. I also showed them how to repair them, unless they get too damaged in which case they can be broken down and recycled.” Ra’yven stated.

Jack nodded. “Thanks for this.” She told her before she walked off to her students.

Ra’yven picked up five balls and walked them over to the field and placed them down.

“Okay, today we are doing something different, precision is your word today, you need to hit moving targets that are this big,” Jack held up the ball to show them what they would be hitting. “Also, I don’t want you to destroy them, hit them yes, destroy no.” she added. “Moderate your power and strike with precision that is your task today.”

She tossed the sphere to Jane who didn’t bother to catch it she just focused and turned it on just before it struck the ground. It rose back up to Jane’s chest height and hovered mid-air causing Jack to frown. “So that’s what you’ve been doing.” she remarked.

“Yeah… but 1 is my limit.” Jane stated as the sphere slowly started to move. “I am over there practising.” She added as she moved to a place out of the way.

Jack walked over to Liara, “You know… kind of freaks me out to see her do that.”

Liara sighed, “Ra’yven said it wasn’t common back before her sleep but those who neglected their technology could be consumed by it. Since Jane has Reaper tech… she doesn’t want to give birth to a newer stronger Reaper race… so yeah.”

Jack shivered for a moment, glad for a moment that only Jane had that possibility inside her as both the Geth and Edi had evolved pass the fragments of Reaper code within them, changing it and making it unique to them. “Well… if it is Jane… we won’t have to worry about that.”

Liara nodded. “The moment she can talk to them she will explain to them why becoming like the Reapers is a bad idea, that they need to become more or else they would always be limited to what they were based on.”

Jack nodded, “Makes me glad Ra’yven is around to teach her.”

Liara nodded.

“Okay… who’s first?” Jack asked.

Jane practised as students took turns using their powers against Ra’yven’s spheres. Just as Jane was trying more complicated movements a stray attack headed for her sphere. She didn’t think to make the sphere evade; she was connected to it; it was a part of her and her first instinct was to block it. A biotic barrier formed around the sphere; it absorbed the power much to everyone’s shock.

“Can you do that?” Jack asked Ra’yven.

Ra’yven shook her head, “The People couldn’t use biotics, we built with Eezo but because of our genetic structure we are immune to Eezo poisoning so could never gain biotics.” She explained, “I built them with Eezo circuitry, part of the anti-gravity functions but… they shouldn’t be able to do that.”

Jane asked the sphere to come back to her hands and it did. Karin walked over and offered her a tissue. “Your nose.”

Jane took the tissue and used it to gather the blood before she pinched her nose.

Jack glanced to her students and the one who had thrown the blast. “Simons… where was your precision?” she questioned. “You had no reason to fire off at Jane, it isn’t like you are under pressure, being shot at.”

“Sorry I lost focus.” The man with a burn scar on the side of his face said to both Jane and Jack.

“You can’t lose focus… you have to be controlled; you could have killed a teammate with that move. When you are in close quarters combat, making split second decisions, life or death decisions, you cannot lose focus.” Jack told him. “You think Jane would have accepted that excuse while we were fighting for our lives through swarms of Collectors and Reapers.”

None of the other instructors pulled Jack back, mistakes did happen in battle but that was usually because of incoordination and sudden changes to the field of battle. In fact, a few times Jane’s timed shots had hit Jack as she changed her cover in front of Jane without checking, her shields had stopped them though so no harm no foul and only in the early days when they were learning to fight together. There was no need for those kinds of mistakes here, they weren’t being shot at, they weren’t doing anything tactical today, or being timed, they just had to hit the moving targets and try not to destroy them. Were their misses, yes, accidents where they destroyed the spheres, yes, but Simons had thrown it at Jane.

Jack waited for his response.

“No…” He finally answered.

Jack watched him for a moment, “Don’t do it again.” She told him. “Take a break and fuel up.” She ordered the group.

Ra’yven let her spheres drop to the ground, amongst the wreckage of damaged spheres and walked over to Jane. “That was interesting how did you do that?” she asked.

Jane shrugged, “I didn’t even think to avoid, I can’t project barriers, only have them ripple over my skin, I just imagined a barrier.”

Ra’yven frowned and tips of her ears twitched which Jane knew was her tell that she was thinking hard. “I mean… it’s possible… but it shouldn’t be…” she held her hands out to take the sphere, Jane surrendered it to her and she connected to it. “Huh… so that’s how it worked…”

“How?” Liara asked as she scanned the sphere.

“I used Eezo laced circuitry, means I could keep it small but still manage enough of a mass effect field to allow lift. I didn’t think there was enough power for shields… I was wrong.” Ra’yven admitted.

“Could they be used for infiltration, inspection of tight places… that sort of thing?” Liara asked already seeing potential for more than just target practise.

Ra’yven considered her for a few moments, “Add a camera, maybe a retractable plasma cutter… yeah.”

“Oo… and a computer interface.” Jane added as she looked at her training sphere with a new light. “Hey… could a Geth use this?”

Both women turned to Jane surprised, they hadn’t thought about the possibility of using the sphere as a mobile platform for a Geth, it would be a perfect search and rescue platform for tight places.

“Mm… might be too small for a Geth… but it is possible… microprocessors…” Ra’yven started to list what she would need to do.

“Oi… you nerds done over there yet?” Jack called with a teasing tone, she knew how these guys could get once they started working on an interesting engineering problem, which only grew when Tali, Edi, Kenneth and Gabby were included.

“ _Balva’shi’noc tou mha._ ” Ra’yven and Jane said as one, it basically translated to go fuck yourself badly.

“Oo… I am so telling Kahlee you guys are swearing in another language.” Jack taunted.

Ra’yven and Jane turned to each other then back to Jack, “Prove it,” Jane told her.

“What language was that?” Liara asked.

“My birth language… surprised Jane knows it.” Ra’yven remarked.

Jane tilted her head as she felt the answer in her mind, “You learnt from my tech, they learnt from yours…”

Ra’yven smiled, “Looks like you are finally starting to talk to each other, learn from each other in a way more than just impressions.”

“We’re waiting…” Jack hurried.

Ra’yven sighed, “Talk at dinner.” She told Jane and Jane nodded as Ra’yven turned the five spheres back on.


	10. Chapter 10 ~ Problems arise.

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 10 ~ Problems arise.

Jane woke with a start and glanced around; her hand searched the bed beside her for her love but it was empty. “Liara?” she called; they were in their apartment on the citadel having returned from Grissom a few weeks ago. Jane rubbed her face and got up, after going to the bathroom she went in search of her bed mate. She didn’t bother to put on her robe she just walked naked through their apartment to Liara’s office.

“ _Shadow Broker out.”_ Liara said a few moments after Jane walked in, she then locked down her interface and turned to Jane. Her eyes lingered over Jane’s body as Jane yawned and scratched her the top of her head. “I am so glad it is audio only. Image what my agents would say if they saw you striding naked across their screen. It would kind of defeat the purpose of hiding my identity.”

Jane grinned and walked over to Liara and sat on her lap facing her. Liara placed her hands-on Jane’s thighs and gently rubbed them before slowly running her hands up Jane’s sides. Her fingers ran over muscles and up her ribs, the slight rise of tattoos met her touch. Jane had a few new tattoos, both Jack had done for her while they were on Grissom, the one Jane’s left side was a list of numbers, N7 ID numbers, there were little crosses beside four of them indicating the death of the owner of the number, in this case the IDs had been awarded posthumously to Kaiden, Thane, Legion and Mordin. On her right side she had two columns of names, they started below her arm pit and continued almost to her hip, the names of the ships lost during the battle of the Citadel, Seran, SRV 1 and those ships who were destroyed during the final battle, she also had the name Aratoht, for the Batarian colony she couldn’t save.

Liara had frowned when Jane had put together the tattoos, the N7 numbers she didn’t mind, in fact she too had it and was pretty sure the others would eventually get it as well. The other one, she didn’t know how she felt about it. She didn’t believe that Jane needed to be constantly reminded of all the people who had died so that she could accomplish the impossible.

“You still hate that one huh?” Jane asked as she had felt Liara’s hand hesitate over it.

Liara took a breath, “Yes…”

“May I ask why?” Jane asked as she gently stroked her neck folds.

Liara closed her eyes for a moment, not knowing how to quite put it into words.

“Do you want to show me?” Jane asked.

Liara nodded and less than a heartbeat later she had tumbled into Jane’s mind. It took a few moments for Jane to make sense of the surge of emotions and ideas coming from her beloved.

 _You think I wear their names as punishment?_ Jane asked.

 _You don’t… how can I not think that, I feel your guilt even now._ Liara answered.

Liara felt Jane press their foreheads together.

 _Go deeper…_ Jane told her. _Do I feel guilt that my decisions cost those people their lives? Yes… but I wear their names to honour them, not to mourn them. Like I wear Thane’s prayer, Mordin’s resolute statement about why it had to be him, Legion’s lame excuse, Kaidan’s dog tag number._ Jane explained.

Liara went deeper like Jane told her to, the guilt and sorrow was there but bleeding through was pride and respect. Tears ran down her cheeks as she felt the weird swirl of emotions Jane felt when she thought about the names she had branded into her flesh. Lips brushed against her tears and Liara pulled back from the meld but not completely as she was still a little emotionally raw.

“How can you feel all that in a moment?” Liara asked.

Jane shrugged, “I just do…”

Liara pressed her face to Jane’s chest, the warm touch of metal from Jane’s tags were comforting. Her hands moved up and around Jane’s back to hold her more firmly. After holding her for a few moments Liara started to kiss a path up her neck to Jane’s lips, they kissed deeply. Jane shifted forward, bringing their bodies closer, Liara’s hands explored Jane’s body, Jane was acting a little passive, letting Liara know she could be in charge if she wished it. Liara’s kiss changed, it became hungry, demanding and that she was eager to be in charge, generally she preferred Jane taking the lead but she was beginning to like occasionally being in charge of her powerful bondmate.

Jane slid her hand into Liara’s robe, Liara had woken when her omni tool went off, important and urgent intel from one of her agents so she had stealthily left their bed, slid on a robe and went to talk with her agent. Jane broke the kiss, “Don’t you need to action that?” she asked teasingly. The last time Jane and Liara had gotten frisky in her ‘office’ they had accidently broadcasted them making love for a few minutes before Liara realised it and turned off the broadcast. There were some amused agents the next day when Liara spoke to them but besides one… not so mild reference to the event the others had just ignored it.

“No… it was important, but we have a little leeway, besides it is more for Thea than for me, the Crones are finally going to make their move to try to oust her.” Liara explained.

Jane frowned, “No… we need to let her know now. She needs the heads up so they don’t rush and try to blind side her.”

Liara sighed, Jane was right. “Hold those thoughts I am not through with you.” She told Jane in a slightly threatening tone. She adjusted her robe as Thea preferred to talk face to face and touched her omni tool and flicked through her contacts until she came to Thea’s name. “Sit still unless you want to give Thea an eyeful.”

Jane chuckled, “Considering what we’ve seen…” she said as she slid her hand back into Liara’s robe.

Liara blushed, they had seen a few vids of Thea and Aria, one was ‘accidently’ recorded when Aria and Thea had taken over her office shortly after they got engaged and the other was one Aria had arranged to tease her during the war. “Just stay still,” Liara told her.

Jane grinned as Liara pressed call; she waited several moments before Thea answered.

“This had better be important!” Aria slightly muffled voice complained from off screen.

“Shh… Liara… your robe.” Thea warned her even as she tried to keep Aria away from the screen while Liara made herself presentable. Considering it took a few moments Liara had to assume Aria was further down the bed.

“Jane!” Liara complained as she tugged her robe back into position making the camera on her omni tool move catching Jane who was sitting on her lap.

“Nice tits Jane,” Aria complimented even as Thea blushed.

“Um… same?” Jane replied with a grin as Aria had tossed back blankets to get a look at Liara, exposing both herself and Thea.

“Aria!” Thea complained as she tugged the blanket back up and covered her chest. Aria didn’t care and just propped herself up next to Thea.

“Jane!” Liara exclaimed and with a biotic lift she draped a blanket over her shoulders, Jane shifted and covered herself as Liara wanted.

“Spoil sport,” Aria complained even as she wrapped an arm around her bondmate, not caring that her upper half was exposed. “I am sure Jane doesn’t care; I am starting to believe the people who say she’s not human.”

Thea just shook her head. “Ignore her, so… Shadow Broker…”

“Unless you want to put on a show for us… or the other way around?” Aria interrupted.

Thea glared at her for a moment before turning back to Liara. “So…”

“The Crones are on the move…” Liara told her simply.

Thea paused and frowned, “Damn… I thought they might have given up.”

Liara sighed, “I thought so too but… I would be a stupid Shadow Broker if I didn’t have an insider in each faction of the Matriarch council.”

Thea shook her head amazed, “how did you manage that?”

Liara chuckled, “My secret.”

Thea had to concede that, “Do you know when they will make their move?”

“Sooner rather later, they are going to approach the Shadow Broker, they want dirt on you and Aria.” Liara answered, it was why she told Jane they had leeway.

Aria grunted, “That is stupid of them.”

Liara nodded, “I think they want dirt on you so they can imply it to Thea but they aren’t stupid enough to actually use it.”

Aria frowned, “Pity… but you might want to warn them though, there are people who want to get in my good graces. I will not order a hit, Thea said no, and with no help from the Shadow Broker network I can prove I didn’t, but one might still come as an unsolicited favour.”

Liara shook her head, “it doesn’t matter, they aren’t going to get anything from the Shadow Broker. I have weighed the outcomes, who they want to replace you is a puppet… a… parrot?” she glanced to Jane as she was using human terms.

“Huh?” Thea asked.

“A creature from earth that can be taught to repeat words, sometimes without even understanding what they are saying.” Jane explained.

Thea nodded and then frowned, “Seriously… Human language is weird.”

Jane chuckled, “I’m speaking English, you should have seen Liara’s confusion when she was learning French and it came to counting to a hundred.”

Aria’s forehead tattoo shifted in confusion.

Liara sighed and Jane chuckled, “I’ll say it in English, just to show you how ridiculous it is. Everything is okay until you get to seventy. Sixty-eight, sixty-nine, sixty ten, sixty eleven, sixty twelve… sixty ten eight, sixty ten nine, four twenties… four twenties ten.”

Thea’s eyes kept getting wider as Liara spoke. “No way?”

Aria was laughing.

“Hey… the French have used this method for a very long time, it works for them.” Jane told Aria, the only reason she knew it was because her mother was a French Canadian.

“Anyway, I am going to tell them they are on their own. Besides… it is known that the Broker is trying not to piss off Jane… you know… for trying to kill her and for trying to sell her to the collectors… that sort of thing.” Liara explained and got chuckles. “I will probably contact them tomorrow mid-morning… then let you know… okay… Shadow Broker out…”

“Seriously… you have to stop doing that,” Jane told Liara before she could cut the feed. “One day you are going to blow your own cover…”

“Shut up and come here…” Liara told her as she pulled Jane close and kissed her.

Thea cleared her throat to get their attention before they got too engrossed.

“Come on it was getting interesting!” Aria complained.

“Oh goddess.” Liara hung up on them. Jane laughed as Liara blushed.

After a few moments Jane lifted Liara’s face, “Now… where were we,” she remarked before she kissed her love.

After a few long moments Liara broke the kiss, “Not here.” She told Jane firmly.

Jane got to her feet and walked from the room, she didn’t bother to put a sexy sway to her step, she knew it would just make Liara laugh besides she couldn’t pull it off even if she tried.

Liara finished shutting down her system before she followed Jane. Jane was waiting for Liara, after all Liara had indicated that she wanted to be in charge. Liara slid off her robe and somehow added a sexy sway to her hips, Jane wished she could get that seductive roll right. Moving over to Jane Liara gently ran a finger down Jane’s body, between her breasts and down to her abs. Her fingers gently stroked the red tuff just above Jane’s sex, it was neatly trimmed to a small patch. To this day Jane’s hair fascinated her, she loved to touch it, stroke it and run her fingers through it. Reaching around Jane with the same hand she gripped Jane’s right arse cheek and even dug her nails in as she brought Jane closer. Her free hand rested on Jane’s face, touching her ear and hair.

Tilting Jane’s head, a little Liara moved forward and kissed her passionately. Jane groaned and only just kept from taking over and control of the kiss. Liara felt Jane’s resolve to let her be in control and it did wonders for her ego, to have this strong, commanding woman do what she wanted, to be in control of her.

Now she had to decide what she wanted to do, did she want to bury Jane’s head between her legs, or the other way around. Did she want to fuck or to be fucked?

Jane grinned as she guessed Liara’s indecision as she moved to hold Liara closer. She felt the tenseness in Liara’s shoulders. Breaking the kiss to take a much-needed breath, “you’re tense… let me… massage those knots out.”

Liara was a little surprised, Jane had occasionally rubbed her shoulders while she sat at her terminal but had never offered a massage before. “Yes… service me.” She told Jane firmly.

Jane tried to school her features into a properly compliant one and only just managed, she hoped, “Give me a moment to get oil and a towel mistress.”

Stepping away from Liara she moved around their room, first to get a towel then massage oil, vanilla and sandalwood. Laying the towel down Jane helped Liara up onto the bed and face down on the towel. Straddling her Jane poured a little of the fragrant oil into the small of Liara’s back and a small amount into her free hand before putting the oil on the bed side table. Rubbing her hands together for a moment she then placed them against the slightly cooler blue skin of her bond mate and started to rub, being mindful of the amount of pressure as she knew she could hurt her if she went too hard. She knew when she had just the right pressure then Liara groaned lowly, slowly she worked her fingers into the tense muscles of her neck and shoulders, loosening them one by one as she moved down Liara’s body, teasing the sides of Liara’s breasts with the tips of her fingers as she pressed the heels of her palms into her back.

With one hand she spread the small pool in the small of her back, with her free left hand she traced the edges of Liara’s N7 tattoo which was like Samara’s and placed directly over her the position of her heart on her back. Under it was both of their ID numbers as well as their wedding date. After spreading the oil Jane started to work on Liara’s lower back, hips and even her behind.

Liara dozed and moaned as Jane kneaded her body into a relaxed puddle. Jane stopped and Liara felt her relaxed body being lifted and turned over. Liara watched with tranquil eyes as Jane got some more oil and then spent long minutes on each arm, massaging them as well. Getting more oil Jane moved her hands not to Liara’s chest like she hoped but to her legs and feet. Liara groaned in protest whenever Jane’s fingers brushed fleetingly against her azure. Jane ignored her protests and moved up to her stomach after getting a little more oil.

Liara panted as Jane’s hands pressed against her hipbones, kneading into her pelvis for long minutes before creeping up to her abdomen for several more minutes before finally moving up to Liara’s chest paying particular attention to her breasts and nipples. 

Liara wanted to move, to make Jane aware of the ache between her legs but her body was putty, it couldn’t move, but she didn’t want to beg. If Liara was a little more alert she would have noticed the signs that Jane was also nearing her limit. Liara felt the hands leave, she assumed to get more oil, Jane shifted her position and settled comfortably between Liara’s legs.

Jane grinned as her eyes focused on Liara’s azure which was glistening with her desire. Using her thumbs Jane started to massage the one place she had yet to touch, starting on the outer lips then moved in, making sure to massage around her clit but didn’t touch it.

“Please…” Liara begged with a breathy and needy edge to her tone.

Jane didn’t hesitate, she dove in, her tongue finding all the places that drove her bondmate wild as her right thumb rubbed circles on her clit.

“F-…” Liara started to say as she curled her toes, her whole body strained, her mind slammed into Jane’s and was almost bounced straight back out again but Liara’s mind was familiar to Jane’s, to the point that it recognised its approach and prepared for it.

Lust, desire and need swamped Jane’s mind and before she even had a chance to truly process it, Liara’s mind exploded in climax. Swiftly Jane slide two fingers from her left hand into Liara’s azure, hooked her fingers up, finding that spot within that drove her nuts as she thrust her fingers in and out of her bondmate. Liara came again as Jane’s lips latched onto her clit and lashed it with her tongue.

Liara’s climax rippled through her body and mind making even Jane’s body shudder in climax. Slowing her hand and tongue she slowly let Liara come down, she pressed her lips to Liara’s thigh before she bit it for several moments leaving behind bruise. She continued to move her fingers, pressing against that spot, keeping Liara in her climax far longer than Jane thought possible but eventually she slowed down and eventually removed her fingers allowing Liara’s tensed body to finally relax even as it continued to shudder.

Moving up Liara’s body she rested beside her and licked her fingers clean. “I hope my service was… adequate.” Jane told her.

Liara chuckled, “if it wasn’t… I don’t know what is.” She moved until she could rest her face against Jane’s chest.

Jane kissed her forehead, “you needed that, you’ve been way too tense lately.”

“Have I?” Liara asked confused.

“You’ve been helping the Geth decipher the data salvaged from Harbinger, helping the team on Ilos to understand Javik and the Prothean artifacts they are finding. Two lectures on the Reaper extinction cycle in relation to your papers and your Shadow Broker work.” Jane rattled off. “And that is since we came back from Grissom.” She added.

“I guess I have been spreading myself a little thin.” Liara remarked with a yawn. “Besides I haven’t been able to help the Geth much, all I did was give them information to help figure out how to decrypt Harbinger’s data.”

Jane kissed her forehead and pulled her a little closer to sleep.

****

Jane woke first and carefully slid out from under Liara, once she was out of bed, she went into the bathroom to take care of her bladder and have a shower. She came out ten minutes later in workout clothes and drying her hair, Liara had curled up in her spot and was hugging her pillow. Jane flicked the sheet over her body and hung the damp towel on a hook. Leaving their room, she walked into the kitchen and to her surprise Aria and Thea were making themselves at home in her kitchen. Jane checked her omni tool but she still had an hour before she was meant to meet Aria outside of Armax Arena for a match.

“Hey,” Aria greeted as she tore into a pastry that they brought with them although she seemed to not be enjoying it.

“Why are you here?” Jane asked trying to keep quiet, “Wait… how did you get in?” she changed her question just as Aria went to answer.

Thea chuckled.

Aria rolled her eyes, “Hello… Queen of Omega… I know how to hack locks, even one as secure as yours.”

“I wanted to speak with Liara,” Thea explained answering Jane’s first question, today was not a council day so it would give Liara and Thea time to plan her counter attack.

“She’s sleeping…” Jane explained as she rubbed the back of her neck. Turning she opened a cupboard and pulled out a box of cereal, imported all the way from Earth, in Jane’s case it was a box of Crunchy Nut, her favourite. Going to another cupboard Jane grabbed a bowel and she grabbed a spoon from a drawer and placed her spoils onto the bench. She turned to get the milk and a coffee, Aria snatched the box and dug her hand in and came out with a handful.

Jane turned, “Come on!” she complained only just keeping her voice down. Putting the milk down she snatched the box off of Aria.

“Hey… I’m a guest,” Aria told her before she ate some of the cereal in her hand. She chewed for several moments, “hey this stuff is good.”

“You broke in,” Jane reminded her as she hugged the cereal to her body and went to get another bowl, she poured some into the second bowl for Aria and slid the bowl over to her before she made herself a bowl. Aria watched as Jane added milk before she started to eat it using a spoon.

Aria grabbed the milk so Jane turned and got her a spoon which she handed to Aria, Aria tried the cereal and was surprised, “It gets better.”

Jane gave her a surprised look, “You act like you’ve never eaten human food before.”

“I haven’t eaten this before,” Aria told her.

“Want some?” Jane asked Thea before she jammed a spoonful into her mouth.

Thea shook her head, “No… Aria got me my favourite pastry on the way here.” She gestured to the pastry before her.

Jane swallowed, “Softy,” she accused Aria.

“I’ll deny it… besides no one will believe it.” Aria remarked.

“Not true, how would you have gained Thea as a bond mate if you didn’t have some softer sides.” Jane told her. “However, they also know you’ll kill them in an instant if they cross you.”

Liara walked out still a little groggy, she however had the presence of mind to put on a robe.

“Wow… what happened to you?” Thea asked surprised, usually Liara was a lot more put together.

Liara pointed at Jane in answer.

“Coffee?” Jane asked as she put down her bowl, Liara nodded and sat on a stool. Jane prepared her coffee just the way she liked it and put it before her bondmate. Liara took the drink and sipped at it.

“What did you do?” Aria asked impressed, to exhaust an Asari maiden is no easy task.

Jane glanced to Liara but she was focused on her coffee. “A whole-body massage followed by…”

“Jane!” Liara exclaimed, Aria and Thea did not need to know.

Aria chuckled as she continued to eat, she even copied Jane and drank the left-over milk directly from the bowl. “That stuff is good,” she told Jane, “where did you get it?”

“Zakera cafe, they are importing a bunch of foods from earth…” Jane explained. “When I asked about Cereal and my favourite brand, within a week they had it here.” She took the bowls and put them in the sink to wash. She then started to prepare Liara’s favourite cereal for her.

Aria read the box, “How did Australian brands of cereal become your favourite, you were from Mindoir.” She asked.

“And my parents from Canada. But, during basic, I was in Australia doing desert survival training. When I was on base it was one of the breakfast options.” Jane explained. “It is how Liara likes Weet-Bixs… they were also on offer and I like to eat them as well.” She turned to Thea, “Sure you don’t want some?” she shook a box for effect.

Thea held out her coffee cup, “Could do with another cup though.”

Jane grinned and grabbed the pot to top up her cup. “So, Aria and I are going to be in Armax Arena, what are you two doing?”

“Planning my counter attack against the Crones.” Thea told her; she didn’t want to bring anyone in on this as they might give away the fact that Liara is the Shadow Broker. Instead of her just being an information broker on top of her expertise in the extinction cycles and Protheans.

“Not that you really need one.” Liara remarked, “The Shadow Broker is going to shut them down.” There was a buzz from her omni tool she read it for a few moments. “Let’s shut them down first. Insistent bitches.” She finished her cereal and stood, taking her coffee she gestured for Thea to follow. “You will have to be silent, if you cannot be silent… don’t come in.”

Thea nodded and followed Liara into her office, an entire wall was covered with blank monitors. Glyph suddenly appeared, “Welcome back Dr T’Soni.”

“Initiate Shadow Broker network.” Liara ordered.

“At once Shadow Broker.” Glyph answered switching his language. Liara took a seat and gestured for Thea to take the spare seat. The screens started to come to life, data feeds from almost every corner of the galaxy, Liara checked the screens quickly before she changed one of the screens to do an audio only call.

“You wanted to speak with the Shadow Broker.” Liara said but Thea knew for a fact they would be hearing a highly mechanical voice on the other side.

“Yes, we need evidence that can take down Councillor Tevos and evidence on her bondmate to keep her silent, we will pay handsomely for it.” A female voice stated boldly.

Thea shook her head, threatening Aria, they had to be seriously desperate.

“It seems you are stupid as well as old… Councillor Tevos is friends with Shepard… I narrowly avoided death for what I tried to do to Shepard before the fall of the Collectors. I doubt I will again if I mess with her friends… so… you are on your own. Do not contact me again about this… Shadow Broker out.” Liara said before she cut the feed.

“Wow you really are playing up this whole… I pissed off Shepard once… not again…” Thea remarked.

“Would you be willing to piss off Jane?” Liara asked.

Thea shook her head, “Saviour of the galaxy… the person who is considered the strongest fighter ever produced… a N7 and a Spectre who has survived things that would kill other people of the same rank… yeah… that’s suicide.”

Liara chuckled, “Which is why the Shadow Broker has that excuse although that is the one of the few times, I have actually had to use it.”

“Now… what are we going to do to counter attack?” Thea asked.

Liara grinned, “Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, I would prefer Diana Allers, however she isn’t the one we need for this.” She connected to the reporter that was on a slightly okay standing with her bondmate.

“Shadow Broker…” Khalisah said tentatively in surprise.

“You have a relationship with Shepard,” Liara answered with a straight face, Thea only just managed not to laugh.

“You could say that,” Khalisah stated but at the same time she didn’t try to dig, she didn’t have any previous experience with the Shadow Broker. She used the network yes, but never before had she spoken with them.

“I am sending you information, report it… if you are asked where you got it from… you can tell them it was from me.” Liara told her.

“Of course.” Khalisah answered and already her eyes were almost bugging out of her head as the information was already there. “Um… this is quiet damning are you sure…”

“The information is about a faction in the Matriarch council, a small group who approached me to get dirt on Councillor Tevos and her bondmate to force a confidence vote and hopefully get her ousted as the Asari Councillor so that they can put forward their own Councillor.” Liara explained. “That would piss of Shepard…”

“And Aria… seriously… pissing off both of them at the same time… idiots…” Khalisah stated, she usually treaded a very dangerous line when it came to both women but she believed she never went too far over it to completely earn their anger. “If I work quickly, I might be able to hit the midday news. Do I owe you anything for this?” she asked, the Shadow Broker didn’t do anything for free, if it was monetary renumeration or IOU favours, the Broker always got an even exchange.

“I am using you for my own needs, this faction is also mostly responsible for withholding information from Shepard during the war and this retaliation because Thea told her. I will use you again in the future, but if you report this in any way other than the way I want…”

“I’m dead… or my reputation… so… report this information, do you want me to include their attempt on Tevos job?” Khalisah asked.

“If you think it will help explain your story, so be it. Shadow Broker out.” Liara cut the feed. “And that is it… although people will probably want to question you about this and I will even get Jane to play her part…”

“So… we bring Khalisah into the council chambers and question her publicly about this… that would cover me and Jane.” Thea remarked, also by making it public meant that she would not be seen as trying to hide anything or as being a part of it as Khalisah would be the one to say publicly that the Shadow Broker did this to prevent earing the ire of Aria and Jane.

“Now let’s just hope they don’t have anything truly damning to counter with.” Liara finished with a big stretch.

Thea watched but the relaxed look didn’t leave her body or her eyes. “Wow… what did Jane do to get you so relaxed?”

Liara chuckled and got up, “shut it down Glyph.”

“Of course, Dr T’Soni.” Glyph replied as they walked out.

The kitchen was clean and a note had been left on the counter explaining that Jane and Aria had left early to go blow stuff up at Armax Arena.

Thea smiled, “I am so glad Jane can amuse Aria when she’s here.”

Liara chuckled, “You know Jane and Aria keep beating each other’s scores, no one is close to those two.”

Thea nodded, “I was glad when Armax Arena made the leagues, separating people based on their ability, from the Bronze beginners to the Platinum legends. It made it fairer.”

Liara nodded, “More so since except for two or three people everyone in the Platinum league are all people who fought with Jane.”

“What is your ranking?” Thea asked.

“Platinum Sixth, just before Miranda and after Jack.” Liara answered. “I would be lower if Samara or Nhaimi competed.” Liara explained.

Thea shook her head in admiration. “I guess you have to be… or you would never be able to stand beside Jane.”

Liara nodded. “So… what do you want to do for the rest of the day, I have to go do some shopping if you want to tag along?” she offered.

Thea nodded, “Sounds like fun and if we have time, can you show me some more hand combat?” she asked, Liara had learnt from Jane, Garrus, Ashley and James and was okay at close combat now. Thea was taking secret lessons when she could mainly to prepare herself for when someone was stupid enough to come after her to get at Aria, it was also why when she could she worked on her biotic powers.

“Sure, but Jane said you are better off learning Krav Maga, a form of real-world self-defence martial art, she is having a friend come to teach us both, Jane might even join in as she is always looking to add to her skills.” Liara explained.

“I just want to make sure…” Thea said as she walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed not facing Liara so that she could dress.

“I know… it is why I learnt but… as Jane told me… having ‘half arsed skills’ might be more dangerous than having no skills.” Liara explained.

“Surely…” Thea started to say.

“Hey… I always use biotics and guns in Armax Arena… keeping the fact that I can throw and block punches a secret.” Liara remarked as she dressed in comfortable but elegant clothes. Once she was done, she sat beside Thea to put on shoes.

“So… what are we shopping for?” Thea asked.

“Food and underwear…” Liara answered absentmindedly before she realised what she had implied.

Thea laughed, “I see Jane is as harsh on underwear as Aria is.”

Liara sighed, “Yes… if I am not careful, she tears them… I’ve lost five pairs this month.”

“Three dresses and eight pairs of underwear this month, Aria likes to tear my clothes off.” Thea offered, after all Liara had told her something personal.

Liara gave her a sympathetic look before she stood and put her credit chit into her pocket. “Let’s go.”

****

Jane stretched a week later as she walked out of her bed room, she did enjoy her days off from council business. Liara was at the counter cooking breakfast. “Why didn’t you wake me?” Jane asked as she leant in to give Liara a morning kiss on her neck before wrapping her arms around Liara’s body.

“Well I was planning to bring you breakfast,” Liara explained as she leant her body into Jane’s.

Jane rested her chin on Liara’s right shoulder, “Um… so what’s for breakfast?”

“A spinach and feta frittata,” Liara explained as she carefully flipped the almost cooked dish. “There is also bacon and weird little sausages.” She added as she gestured to another pan.

“Sounds delicious… have you been practising?” Jane asked, Liara was learning to make human dishes just like Jane was learning to make Asari.

“No… but… I wanted to try.” Liara answered.

“Mm… I might have to up my game tonight then.” Jane told her before she turned her head and kissed the blue neck of her beloved. Generally, when one of them prepared breakfast the other was responsible for dinner, that was how they shared responsibilities.

“You best do that.” Liara told her with a slight grin.

There was a chime from their front door. Jane sighed, “Seriously who is visiting at this time of the morning.” She complained before she went to answer the door. Getting to the front door Jane turned on the viewing screen which focused on the abdomen of a Geth she knew well, unlocking the door it slid open with a hiss. “Legionnaire… come in.” she greeted.

“Shepard Commander,” Legionnaire greeted. “Sorry for disturbing your morning.” He stated as he stepped into the apartment, the door closing behind him.

“Liara and I were just about to sit down for breakfast, although you don’t eat you can join us and let us know what brought you here.” Jane told him.

“I need to speak with the council… it is important.” Legionnaire explained as they walked into the kitchen.

Jane frowned at her friend, “Why not go to Glitch, I am…”

“Glitch went home… I have recalled her… she will be here in a few hours; you need to gather the rest of the council.” He told her insistently.

Jane studied Legionnaire, trying to read him, most would say that Geth couldn’t be read, they were wrong. It was hard but possible and Jane was one of the few who could. If she had to put a name to what she was seeing, she would say that he was anxious. “Okay… I’ll convene…”

“No… it shouldn’t be on the record, not until we have a plan.” Legionnaire told her.

Jane sat at the breakfast bar and watched as Liara served her.

“Nothing has come to me in the way of a problem.” Liara remarked as she sat before her own food.

The flaps around Legionnaire’s eye opened a little then closed quickly. “I… it isn’t a problem… yet…”

Jane frowned, “Wow… a lie… I didn’t think you could lie…”

Legionnaire shook his head. “Not a lie… but it is not quiet the truth either.”

Jane ate some of her breakfast before it got cold as she chewed, she called Thea. Aria answered, “Fuck you Jane,” Aria complained as she had answered Thea’s call.

“Sorry… but I have an anxious Geth in my home who wants to call the council together… discretely… I assume your bondmate might know a way of doing that.” Jane explained before she ate more food.

“Geth can get anxious…” Aria remarked.

“Invite us all over for breakfast…” Thea said in answer to Jane’s question.

“Right… I forgot about that… end the invite with… should have listened to Shepard… such a stupid phrase. See you when you get here.” Jane remarked before she hung up, then she sent the invites out with a priority listing and considering Jane rarely sent mail out of hours it would peak people’s attention.

Liara pulled up her omni tool and put in an order for more food, since they would be here for breakfast, they had to supply food. “I have ordered more food, quickly eat and then get dressed so that we can start cooking.”

Jane nodded and although she didn’t rush, she did speed up a little.

“Legionnaire when the food comes can you bring it in while we get dressed?” Liara asked as she lifted a chipolata and bit it in half.

“Of course, Liara.” Legionnaire replied.

“So not fair…” Jane griped as she put her plate in the sink, the Geth as a whole only called her Shepard Commander, even after being asked to just call her Jane, even Glitch always referred to her as such. Jane was positive that it was Legion’s doing, that he was pulling her leg even though he no longer completely existed anymore as he was a part of all Geth.

Liara chuckled and watched as her bondmate walked off to get dressed. “Now that she is gone, why… why do Geth only call her Shepard Commander?” she asked as she finally finished her plate.

Legionnaire glanced to the door Jane had left through. “It would be wrong…” he explained.

“Wrong how?” Liara asked as she tidied up.

Legionnaire dipped his head with a small twitch of his eye flaps, if Jane was here to decipher, she would say that he frowned. “Legion and Shepard Commander… gave us free will… we honour both by calling her as Legion did… Shepard Commander.”

Liara smiled, “Jane fully believes it is Legion pulling her leg.”

Legionnaire tilted his head as he considered her for a moment, “there… was a hole.” He replied.

Liara chuckled, “Ha… so a little of Legion’s humour is a part of you all, he probably is pulling her leg even as you guys do it to honour both.”

Legionnaire didn’t confirm or deny.

“I am going to get dressed are you going to be okay for a couple of minutes?” Liara asked.

“I will answer the door if it rings.” He told her as she walked off. Walking around the bench he started to wash the dishes.

“Hey… you didn’t have to do that!” Jane grumbled as she came to stand beside him.

“I was bored,” he replied and handed the clean plate to Jane which she started to dry with a cloth.

“Weirdest thing to see,” a voice said from across the room.

“You know… even Legionnaire didn’t break in… maybe you should learn some manners from him.” Jane stated over her shoulder at Aria and Thea.

“That’s because he’s boring,” Aria stated.

“She lies… Liara let us in,” Thea told her.

Legionnaire turned his head. “Councillor Tevos, Aria,” he greeted just as the front door buzzed. Grabbing a spare cloth, he dried his hands. “That will be the food Liara ordered.” He stated as he went to get the door.

“We came early to help,” Thea explained as she watched Jane finish drying the dishes and putting them away.

Liara joined them and greeted the other pair as Legionnaire came back and carefully unpacked the bags of food onto the bench although one bag he left as is as it had a red stripe on it meaning it was for those who needed Dextro food.

Jane glanced at what Liara had brought and nodded, “Making frittatas, time effective and easy to make.”

“I got ingredients for several types and even enough to make a Dextro version.”

Jane nodded, they in fact had separate cooking tools and plates in a clearly marked cupboard just for making Dextro food since neither wanted to poison Tali or Garrus. “I’ll make that one first as you prepare the veg for the others.” She said as she went to get the right tools.

Liara started to chop away from Jane as Jane worked on the Dextro frittata. Thea and Aria watched with Legionnaire although he was prone to washing used tools and handing them back as well as clearing the green waste while the other two didn’t get in the way.

Jane put her finished Dextro Frittata into a red baking dish and put it in the warm oven to keep it at a perfect eating temperature.

“I’ll clean those,” Legionnaire told her, he didn’t understand why doing the simple task of cleaning dishes was calming him down but he appreciated it. He needed to be calm in order to tell what he had learnt.

“It can all go away as everything is in the Frittata.” Jane explained and Legionnaire nodded, Jane cleaned the bench twice in between each clean she washed her hands at the Dextro sink before doing the final clean and wash with ‘normal’ water.

“Wow, you know I questioned your kitchen setup when you designed it but it makes sense now.” Aria remarked.

“Yeah well, when your friends can die if they accidently eat the wrong food, yeah I’m not letting that happen.” Jane told the room firmly.

Thea nodded, Primarch Vakarian and Admiral Zorah visited often enough that eventually they would probably get their own apartment but for now they stayed with Jane and Liara when they were on the citadel.

“Hey… when are those two binding wrists…” Aria asked.

Jane grinned, “They did that a month ago, a private ceremony, only close friends and family. It was interesting as like us they mixed ceremonies.”

“Oh, I am so leaking that to Khalisah,” Aria stated irritated that the couple hadn’t blown up the extranet and was surprised the Quarian had managed to keep a secret as they weren’t known for it.

Just as Jane and Liara were finishing the last of the food the door chimed. Thea stood and went to get the door, Bakara and Admiral Shala walked into the room, a few moments later the door chimed again, Valern walked in and not much later Sparatus walked in followed by a Hanar with the Face name of Councillor Proud Voice of the Hanar, the gentle slow thuds indicated that the Elcor Councillor was making their way here.

Thea followed the last Councillor into the room. “Good you have food…” said a gremlin like voice, the Vorcha Councillor was one of the most abrasive in the group but everyone had learnt to deal with him.

“Why would I invite you all to breakfast and not offer food?” Jane told him as she finished grilling a loaf that had been chopped in half lengthways.

“Considering you used your… emergency code… anything could have happened; now can we get started.” Valern stated.

“We are waiting on Glitch.” Jane told him.

“Isn’t that Councillor Glitch behind you?” the Salarian asked.

Jane frowned, “No… that’s Legionnaire.”

Valern gave her a dismissive wave, “All geth look the same it’s not like you can tell them a part.”

“That is very speci-ist of you,” Bakara remarked, “It’s like saying all Salarians look the same or all Asari, or all humans or any race for that matter.”

“And for the record, I can recognise a whole bunch of Geth from a glance,” Jane replied.

There was another chime of the door, Jane just pressed the open button on her omni-tool. Glitch walked into the room a few moments later. “sorry for being late.”

“It’s alright we were just finishing making breakfast, a human dish called Frittata.” Jane told her before she and Liara started to serve everyone, Jane took care of putting Bakara’s large serve together although she knew that this was going to be a pre breakfast snack for her.

Bakara took the serving platter. “Once you have your breakfast please go into the media room.” Liara called as she gestured to the door for them to take.

Liara handed a plate to Freell, “I want red sauce,” the Vorcha demanded.

“Ketchup or Tomato,” Jane asked as she fetched both.

“What difference?” he demanded to know not knowing that there were two red sauces.

“Taste,” Jane supplied as she put a sample of each on his plate.

He tried both, “Ketchup.” He declared.

“All over or on the side?” Jane asked, “If you have it all over and you don’t like the combinations then you will ruin your food, on the side means you can add as you go.” She quickly explained her question before he asked.

He considered her for a moment. “On side.”

Jane nodded and gave him a generous squirt. He then nodded and walked off.

“Never ceases to amaze me that you can get along with almost anyone,” Sparatus remarked as he took an offered red plate, Shala took the other.

Jane just smiled, he was wrong, there were people she didn’t get along with but she did her best to understand and work around the parts she didn’t like.

“Jane is just really adaptable,” Aria remarked, she didn’t bother with the hot breakfast she just went and helped herself to Jane’s stash of cereal. Crunchy Nut, Weet-bix and a few other brands she wasn’t aware of awaited her in the cupboard. She frowned as she considered her options, Fruit loops, Frosty Flakes and Cocoa Puffs were all types she wasn’t aware of.

“Please not my Crunchy Nut, that is all I have left until the next delivery. Try Fruit loops.” Jane called over her shoulder.

“Fine…” Aria replied after all she was behind the current shortage, she grabbed the recommended box and poured herself a generous bowl and went to add milk and grabbed a spoon.

“She looks at home,” Sparatus remarked with a slight leer.

“Thea and Aria have been over for breakfast a couple of times; Aria always raids my cereal stash.” Jane explained.

“Hey… you have good stuff.” Aria stated as she followed Thea out of the room and into the media room, in theory she shouldn’t be here for a secret council meeting, however as a leader in the terminus system no one would comment on her being here.

Jane and Liara followed the last of the people into the media room, like Aria; Liara shouldn’t technically be here but no one questioned her being her as she would be dragged in regardless. Jane forced Liara to sit next to Thea and then sat on the ground before her, “Okay Legionnaire… we are here.”

Legionnaire moved to stand before them, there was a large screen behind him so using his omni-tool he connected to it. “As you know intact data was found inside Harbinger, it was retrieved before he was thrown into the Sol system’s sun.”

There were nods, there had been concern about the Reaper bodies, it had been decided to let the suns have them and it became illegal for any nation to have Reaper corpses, this was to prevent them rising again so even the Terminus system refused to trade in it and had made sure that every Reaper corpse they came across they towed to the nearest sun to incinerate. Reaper husks were also incinerated, there were only two exceptions, Harbinger’s data and Jane’s live husk head, both however were subject to strict rules and regulations.

The teams working on the data were only allowed two hours access to the physical data a month, it was kept in a secure bunker surrounded by dampening fields just in case the technology the data was stored in could also indoctrinate. The people who had access then went through stringent exams to make sure they weren’t indoctrinated; at the sign of any mental fatigue they were taken away from the site to another where they were encouraged to socialise and weren’t allowed back until they passed a base line test. It was a hard set of rules for the researchers as they weren’t encouraged to completely immerse into their work like they normally would but they understood why these rules were important. Jane’s husk head, was not subject to such strict rules about contact because it couldn’t indoctrinate, the rules were just about who had access to it.

“Yes, I believe you are trying to piece together the Reaper timeline.” Valern stated and there were nods, if they could, they wanted any data or names of the races that had been harvested, just so that they could be acknowledged. A big memorial was slowly in the process of being planned, to be set up near the Krogan monument. Already it was decided to have Team Normandy immortalised in large statues with descriptions and footage being available of them all, including those who didn’t make it through. But they also wanted a separate monument dedicated to the extinction cycles and were even thinking of including a statue of Harbinger in it.

“That is the plan, we also are trying to figure out when they started to artificially stimulate the cycle by leaving technology behind.” Legionnaire added. “Harbinger’s data is hard to decipher as we can’t currently figure out how he chose to store data. So far, we’ve managed to decode three packets of data, one about the production of the human Reaper, the second about Shepard Commander being the controlling mind of the human Reaper…”

“Good base lines…” Bakara remarked before she took a big bite of her sandwich and Legionnaire nodded, after all it was all information that they were aware of so they could verify the data.

“The last were a series of orders, and that is why I am here.” Legionnaire added.

“What were these orders?” Thea asked.

“He ordered 6 Reaper ships to follow the Andromeda…”

The sound of a mug shattering broke into his sentence, Jane stood as blood trickled down her left arm, she left the room in a hurry. This all happened so quickly no one could react or go to offer assistance.

“Let her go,” Liara told the room even as she prepared to stand. “Most of you were at the wedding, do you remember what David said, about her being fostered by Alec and Elaine Ryder and their children?” she asked and got nods.

“After Alec was… black listed… for his ideas on AI he was approached by Jien Garson. Alec, Sara and Scott, are all on their way to the Heleus Cluster and we have no way of warning them because any beacons they’ve placed so far would have been destroyed by the wave.” Liara explained before she stood and went to follow her bondmate.

Jane was rinsing her hand under a tap, Liara took her hand and gently pulled a few shards from the cuts. She didn’t say anything, she just studied the cuts. Thea walked in and discretely grabbed a few cloths to clean up the coffee, blood and broken cup. Liara turned and went to a cupboard and pulled out a large first aid kit and put it on the bench, opening it she pulled out a tube of medi-gel and some bandages. Expertly she dabbed the gel on the cuts and then wrapped a bandage around it to keep it clean while it healed.

“Have you calmed down now?” Liara asked.

Jane sighed, “Not really… but…”

Liara rested her head against Jane’s, “Where you go, I go.” She told her, giving her permission to make her decisions.

“Only six of them…” Jane told her, “I was ordered to kill the Reapers… I haven’t yet.” She tapped on her omni-tool. “Joker… go get Ra’yven and bring her, Edi and Samantha here.” She ordered a few moments after connecting.

“Um… Legionnaire said you were going to do that like five hours ago… we are already on our way back.” He explained.

Jane sighed, “Am I that predictable?” she asked.

Joker shrugged, “Don’t know why you want them but I don’t think so… at least not for those who don’t know you. We’ll be there soon.”

“Thanks.” Jane told him just before he cut the feed.

“Better?” Liara asked and Jane nodded.

“I’m sorry,” Jane told her.

“Hey… there are only six and we will be much better prepared.” Liara told her.

Jane nodded and together they went back into the media room and retook their seats.

“As I was saying,” Legionnaire finally continued, “Harbinger ordered, 1 Capital, 3 Destroyers, 1 Troop transport and 1 Processor to follow the Arks, to capture the escaped races and access the viability of extending the experiment to the Heleus cluster.” He explained as he brought up the orders.

“He never expected to lose did he,” Jane remarked shocked, the thought of failure had never occurred to Harbinger, he had been completely confident that he was going to win.

The others shook their heads, just as amazed as Jane was.

“And we have to assume that they didn’t get wiped out by the wave because we don’t know how far the wave extended into Dark Space.” Liara added and many around the room nodded.

“They could regroup and come back to take us out.” Valern stated, “And by the time they do that we might have become completely complacent and unprepared to take them on.”

“You’re going after them,” Bakara declared confidently as she looked at Jane.

Jane nodded, “I was ordered to kill them all… I haven’t… that bugs me.”

“But you promised us 10 years.” Sparatus reminded her.

Jane nodded, “And I fully intend to give the council that time. besides, it will probably take that long to build a ship capable of travelling through dark space.”

“You might not get there in time to save them… so why go?” Valern asked.

Jane smiled, “Well I am actually hoping to make up the time we take to prepare.”

There was a chime on the door. Liara opened it, “We’re in the media room,” she called.

“Edi… I can walk.” Jeff complained.

“Food…” Samantha said excited and helped herself to a plate as Ra’yven walked in followed by Edi, Jeff and finally Samantha. “Hey… who hurt themselves?” she asked as she had seen the blood and first aid kit.

“Everyone, I believe the only person you haven’t met is Ra’yven, she’s an Ancient Alien like Javik.” Jane introduced and Ra’yven waved her hand.

“Huh… we missed some.” Edi remarked a little angrily having read the monitor.

“Yeah…” Jane answered. “Ra’yven’s people created the relays…”

Ra’yven shook her head, “No… not quite, we created the technological theory behind the Mass Relays but we didn’t build the Relays.” She corrected. “We built a mass effect accelerator to jettison ships and probes long distances at incredible speeds, similar to the Relays but not. In fact, my government used the accelerator to kill a Reaper. The same Reaper Jane got the IFF from.” She explained.

“If I were to get you the specs for an Ark, could you figure out how we can get to the Heleus cluster shortly after they do?” Liara asked, in fact she already had all that information as the previous Shadow Broker had considered leaving the Milky way all together.

Ra’yven considered her for a few moments, “By modifying a Mass Relay back into an Accelerator, then yeah I can make up time, it is all about math. But the faster you go the more stress it will put on the ship; it will have to be built in a very specific way. Also, once you hit a certain speed, except for plants and maybe insects, complex organisms… weird things start to happen to them so, organic animals/Sapiens will have to be in stasis.”

“Couple of Quantum entanglement relay beacons, instantaneous communications,” Samantha added understanding why she was here and even accepting that she was probably going along on this mission.

“How long do we have?” Ra’yven asked.

“At least Ten years,” Jane explained, “It was how long I promised I would be the Human Councillor.” She added and Ra’yven nodded.

“Plenty of time then… I am assuming some Geth will come…” she glanced to Legionnaire who nodded quickly. “So, the ship won’t have to be completely finished, means we can take our time designing and engineering. How many people?”

“Assume at least a hundred thousand.” Thea told her knowing that once this became public knowledge there would be a long list of people willing to go as they would most likely not be coming back; they would get the chance to make new lives for themselves.

Ra’yven nodded and watched as people stood and started to return their dishes to the kitchen. “We will leave this to Shepard and start organising resources.” Valern told the room and got nods, the council had learnt the hard way during the war that if they tried to interfere with Jane it would end badly, it would be easier to work with her than against.

Sparatus paused next to Legionnaire, “Just curious… since you don’t need to knock out many at once… could you miniaturise the Crucible, aim and shoot it?” he asked the Geth.

Legionnaire’s flaps opened wide as did Glitch’s, “Possible… I didn’t think of doing that.” He answered.

Jane grinned as Liara walked the Councillors out. Thea however had set herself up at the sink to start washing dishes. Glitch paused next to Jane, “I will have some of my people start gathering resources, the moment you have the design, send it to us and we will start building.”

“Thanks Glitch.” Jane told her.

“We like working, and working on a project for you… I won’t lack volunteers,” Glitch explained as she walked off. Jane followed people out and thanked them for coming as well as saying good bye to friends.

“So… not planning on leaving?” Liara asked as Aria made herself comfortable.  
Aria just smiled and sipped at the cereal milk in the bottom of her bowl.

“Man… this is so delicious,” Samantha remarked.

“Jane made that one,” Liara explained as she brought up all the information on the Andromeda Initiative that was in the Shadow Broker’s files.

Samantha gave Liara a dejected look, “Seriously… she cooks as well…”

Liara chuckled.

“Why are all the good ones taken?” Samantha demanded to know.

“Why don’t you try chasing Azure… I am sure you’ll find an Asari…” Aria started to say.

Samantha sighed, “Yeah… I am only attracted to humans.”

“Seriously…” Aria exclaimed, “You can look at Samara’s or Liara’s rack and not think, damn…”

Samantha had to think, “Well no… but… I like red heads… I always have.”

“Please stop teasing my Specialist,” Jane told her as she sat with a fresh cup of coffee in a metal cup.

“And what is this about Liara’s rack?” Thea asked as she walked back in, Legionnaire had easily managed to edge her out of the kitchen, it may have been originally been a part of their programming initially but since becoming self-aware the way Geth worked changed, some liked to build, some liked to grow, some liked to research and some even liked to fight.

Aria was completely unabashed as Thea sat next to her and continued to stare at her bondmate even as she sipped at the tea in her cup. “Come on… even you had a thing for Benezia’s…”

Thea nearly choked on her drink. “Aria…” she complained once she had coughed away the offending liquid.

Aria turned to Jane, “Come on Jane back me up…”

Jane paused just before she sipped her coffee and glanced over to Liara.

Liara sighed, “For your information… yes… even when fighting my mother Jane was very impressed with my mother’s assets.”

“Hey… Liara might have an awesome rack… but you know I am all about arse.” Aria told her even as she squeezed her hand under her bondmate to give it a grope.

Ra’yven was busy flicking through experimental ship designs she had worked on back before she went into stasis. She came across a design and paused on it, ready to change the subject. “You’ll need a ship that can be turned into a base right?”

Jane nodded. “I mean it’s not like we can make a giant Normandy, it will be impracticable.”

“Shit… you are starting to sound like Thea.” Aria complained and Thea gave her a nudge with her elbow.

Ra’yven put the design on the monitor. “It’s a ship that can turn into a space station and then back into a ship.” She explained although the image on the screen was it closed.

“It’s similar in design to the Citadel… wait… did ‘the people’ build the citadel?” Liara asked.

“No… we didn’t and although similar they aren’t the same.” Ra’yven showed how the ship became a space station, how the outer hull extended out, and opened further showing an awesome structure that could be used to dock ships, as a ship and a station it was around half the size of the citadel.

“I helped design this station to be self-sustaining with agricultural decks, water recycling, aquaculture, resource processing, ship building, housing and stasis.” She explained as she put the more detailed designs up. “It was designed for deep space exploration. With a few modifications to the substructure and hull design it can withstand the speeds you are thinking of travelling at.”

“How many people can the station support?” Thea asked, already she was seeing a smaller design to become the new Pinnacle station, a moveable base for Spectres.

“This station could support, when at full production, three hundred thousand people, however it can transport and house in stasis half a million.” Ra’yven answered.

“That math doesn’t make sense,” Edi said as she walked in and offered Joker some food.

Ra’yven glanced around as everyone turned to her. “I was assuming that you would want to trade with the Initiative and Native inhabitants and not be dependent on them… to remain autonomous.”

“You would be correct,” Jane told her with a friendly smile, they were coming with bad news and she didn’t want to further burden the Initiative by putting their hands out for resources when they got there.

“Spare resources could be used for trade and goodwill. The station can sustain all half a million people, more so since I think we can use species of plants and fish from Earth.” Ra’yven added.

“Such as?” Thea asked interested, she had spoken with Ra’yven a few times and understood that the woman’s brain looked at things in a very different way than most species.

“Hemp,” Ra’yven stated, “Fast growing and versatile, rope, cord, clothing, paper, flour and bio-oil can all be produced from that one plant. Rice… can be used in grey water purification and aquaculture. Wheat varieties that only grow a foot tall, putting their energy into the seeds instead of height...” She began to list.

Jane chuckled, “having fun at Grissom?”

Ra’yven nodded, “Kahlee gave me permission to sit in on any lecture I wanted. I’ve learnt a lot.”

“I hope you’ve also helped by giving them an idea to fuel them further.” Thea added.

Ra’yven nodded, “I’ve also held lectures and… brain storming sessions with groups who have hit a wall in their research or planning.”

“How long will it take to redesign the substructure?” Jane asked.

“A few weeks, I will have to do some complicated maths… run models… make sure I over engineer instead of under… to give us room for error or problems.” Ra’yven remarked as she wrote down a list of things, she would need to do in her omni-tool. “Some of the polymers used in the production of the Crucible… I want to see if any of them are viable for use in the ship, I also have the research done on Sovereign’s carcass, they lived in dark space so that is important…” she glanced up from her screen. “We need a name for the ship station.” She told them.

“That can come later,” Jane told her.

“We can ask the galaxy to name the ship,” Thea added. “Are we going to leak this or announce it?”

“Probably better to announce it and say that the council is supporting this effort and Jane to make sure the threat is permanently eliminated.” Liara stated and Thea nodded, the galaxy had been very angry with the council for withholding support for Jane during the war, more so when they found out just how much the council had held back.

The backlash against the Turians and Asari hadn’t been nearly as bad as the backlash against the Salarians. The Turians had done everything in their power to help Jane by giving her a way get them to free up fighters to help. Thea had gone against the Matriarch council to tell her about the beacon, and all the help after had come from Thea bulling her way through protests; the loss of so many Asari had been placed directly in the lap of the Matriarch council not Thea’s, even though she still felt responsible. The Salarians… still had a very low opinion rating at the moment, not helped by the fact that some Dalatrasses were still openly griping about the fact that Jane had cured the Genophage. Although the Krogan had… after some very public threats from the Females and Wrex… vowed to not seek vengeance for the Genophage… ever.

Thea stood, “We can do that tomorrow after the audience with Khalisah.”

“And she will get the exclusive, since Westerlund refused to let her come for questioning unless they got the exclusive rights to record it.” Jane added.

Thea chuckled as she stood, “Since you want to be autonomous, you will need a Diplomatic Liaison to be a buffer. I’ll take care of finding you someone.”

Aria knocked back the last of the cereal milk and stood. “Your Crunchy Nut is safe from now on… I really like the Fruit Loops.” Jane let out a comical sigh of relief

“We will leave you to it.” Thea told her and the pair left after returning the bowl to Legionnaire who was still tidying up the kitchen. They left the apartment and went to their sky car, Thea got into the passenger seat as Aria settled herself in the driver seat.

“So… what do you think?” Aria asked as she got the car to take off.

“I think the milky way is going to lose a lot of very powerful people in ten years.” Thea replied.

“How so?” Aria asked as they got into traffic.

“All of Jane’s people will go, they’ve followed her into hell, and will do so again, she won’t even ask them.” Thea explained.

“Well that’s a given,” Aria stated. “what about us… we’re going right?”

Thea sighed, unsurprised that Aria had already guessed that Thea wanted to go with them, to be the Diplomatic Liaison and give Jane the help she had deserved from the beginning. “I would like to but only if you come with me.” She told her love.

Aria chuckled and took her hand. “I said us…” she reminded Thea. “If you want to go, I will follow.” She stated, like she would give up the best sex she’s ever had. Also… Thea wanted children and Aria wanted to accommodate that, but she didn’t want what happened to her daughter to happen again. She would have to find someone to replace her as leader of the Omega but they had time. She glanced to Thea and gave her a predatory grin, “And you finally get to have that foursome you’ve had fantasies about.”

Thea blushed, “Hey… you put that thought there to start with.” She complained.

Aria chuckled, “Little naïve Liara… never in the milky way galaxy… we won’t be in the milky way galaxy… and I didn’t even have to trick her.”

****

Jane stood in a semicircle with the other councillors, Bakara was on one side of her, Sparatus was on the other. Jane often changed where she stood depending on her mood since there was no set order to the council although Thea as the longest serving member stood somewhat in the middle of the group. Jane watched as Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani walked forward her camera drone followed, Liara had already told Jane the question that had to be asked if not by her then by someone else.

“Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani, you were summoned here in relation to the news segment you released concerning a Faction of the Matriarch Council and their coup attempt on my position.” Thea asked firmly only just keeping the smile from her face. The Faction in question had been stripped of all power and removed from the council of Matriarchs, Aethyta had way too much fun doing that.

“Yes,” Khalisah answered a little intimidated by the group before her.

“There was quite the damning information in that article.” Valern stated, the article had evidence to back up her claims and left the Matriarchs in question no way to get out or explain it away.

“Is there a question in there?” Khalisah asked.

“Yes,” Bakara remarked, “Your source… how did you get that damning information?”

“I was approached by a concerned party who didn’t like what they were doing.” Khalisah replied.

“Answer the question… who gave you that information?” Sparatus asked.

“Usually I would say, a good reporter never reveals their sources. However, I was given permission to list them. I was approached by the Shadow Broker and given this information.” Khalisah answered, the Shadow Broker was a lot like Aria, a law unto themselves and like Aria they were not to be provoked.

The council glanced between each other, they had no power or influence with the Shadow Broker. Nor did they want to earn the Shadow Broker’s ire like the Matriarchs had clearly done, because more than likely the Broker had just as much damning information on them.

Jane glanced but no one seemed to want to question why. “Did the Broker give you a reason as to why they were doing this?” she asked the important question.

“Yes… to not piss off you. There is probably a lot more to it, from my own investigations the group were trying to regain their pre-war control of the Matriarch Council as well as a more far right conservative position rather than the current more progressive position being pushed by the Council. The Broker said it was stupid to target one of your friends and they didn’t want a hand in it. I also think that the Broker isn’t stupid enough to piss of both Jane and Aria at the same time.”

There were nods, Aria and Jane were like resting giants, once angered, nothing would stop them from destroying the thing that angered them.

“Thank you for answering our questions and clearing up why a faction of the Matriarch council was dissolved.” Thea told her.

Khalisah went to step away but Jane clearly gave her a discrete hold signal so she stopped.

“While we are here,” Thea began, “we would like to inform the galaxy of information which has come our way.”

Khalisah checked but her camera was still diligently recording.

“As everyone should know, before Harbinger was fed to Sol’s sun, intact data was discovered and preserved.” Valern stated. “Some fragments have been deciphered; one fragment was a set of orders.” He continued as he tapped on his omni-tool and brought them up for everyone to see. Khalisah’s eyes couldn’t believe what she was reading, a spike of fear rushed through her.

“Six Reapers were sent after the Andromeda Initiative.” Bakara declared. “Which means if they have a chance they can come back, stronger than ever.”

Khalisah glanced to Jane and knew that everyone in the stands was also focused on her.

Jane took a breath as she typed on her omni-tool and brought up the concept design of the ship Ra’yven was redesigning for their use. “I promised the council ten years and it will take that long to get everything in place and to build our ship. I fully intend to finish the job I was given.” She sent it to the monitors to show the galaxy the ship.

Khalisah felt the fear drain out of her, Jane was going to take care of it, was going after them to stop their evil.

“But it will need a name… you guys have ten years to pick it.” She told everyone, letting the milky way galaxy decide the name of the ship that would follow the Reapers was a new thing, normally the name was chosen by the builders, but it would also get people behind it as it would be a part of them.

“We are already working on gathering resources and will leave this in Jane’s capable hands.” Thea added.

“What is important is that we have a plan and we will stand together to help achieve that plan,” Sparatus added.

There were claps from the stands and as the council filed out Khalisah quickly got to her editor and sent everything through to him to broadcast at once.


	11. Chapter 11 ~ Preparations

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 11 ~ Preparations.

Five years later….

Jane paced as she waited for Karin to hurry up and get here. Their door chimed, Jane raced and let Karin and Edi in to her room on the Normandy as they were currently on their way to inspect the ship that still didn’t have a name but a short list of fifty names had been complied. Currently there were ad companies and debates going on about the validity of the names which made the short list. Once that was done a vote would happen and the name with the most votes would be the winner. Karin carried a medical kit and looked slightly harried. “I am getting too old for all this being woken in the middle of the night and running around stuff.” Karin complained.

“Sorry…” Jane told her, Karin just brushed her aside and went down the steps to her bedroom, Liara was laying on the bed, looking very lethargic.

“Okay… why am I here?” Karin asked, Liara didn’t appear to be hurt.

“She isn’t normally like this.” Jane remarked.

“Is she pregnant?” Karin asked, just to make sure.

“No… we’ve decided to hold off until she is a little older.” Jane answered.

“Smart, there could be serious complications with such a young Asari falling pregnant.” Karin replied having done her research just in case. She sat next to Liara who had been jammed into some clothes but she wouldn’t have been surprised to see her in nothing but a sheet. She quickly scanned Liara and frowned.

“Jane why are your micro-bots in Liara?” Karin asked a little alarmed. Jane’s technology was a lot more unique than people realised. Once they knew they were based off Reaper technology they completely reconstructed themselves, making themselves into something more and in the process completely made themselves tied to Jane in a way no one except for Ra’yven truly understood.

Karin checked her temperature, slightly higher than normal but not in the range where she was concerned. “Now… how did you get in there?” She muttered to herself as she checked the scans and came across two puncture wounds hidden in a fresh love bite on her neck. “Commander… go and get… a weeks’ worth of micro-bot supplements.” Karin asked giving Jane something to do for a few minutes. Jane nodded and raced from the room. “Edi help me get her in a seated position.”

Edi nodded and easily moved Liara up to the head of the bed and propped her seated form up with pillows.

“Sorry Karin,” Liara said gently.

Karin shook her head, “Not your fault.” She told the young Asari as she checked her scans. “I think your lethargic mainly because of the micro-bots entering your system.”

“Can you get them out?” Liara asked, she didn’t know why they had left their host or what they were doing in her body, Karin couldn’t even get any when she took blood samples.

“We will try to get Jane to call them back, but just in case she can’t, we have to start giving them what they need before they start to steal from you.” Karin explained.

Jane returned with seven small 50mL bottles of grey liquid. “Got them.”

“Good… for now just put them down.” Karin told her and Jane complied. “Now you are going to try to call them back.”

Jane nodded and sat next to Liara and closed her eyes, she focused as she tried to call back her micro-bots, a frown marred her face for a moment before she opened her eyes.

“I am assuming that didn’t work,” Edi remarked.

Jane nodded, “I got a… what do you want, we are busy, from them when I first made contact. I asked why they were there, they replied… what… this is our body. So, I couldn’t call them back, they don’t think of me as being their body.” She explained still confused. “Also, they are hungry.”

Karin nodded and reached for the bottles and offered them to Liara. “Drink them all.” She ordered and Liara gave her a pained look, having tasted them through Jane’s memories, they were not pleasant to drink. Jane went and raided her chocolate stash.

“Drink them all and you can have this,” Jane told her as she held up a Mars bar.

Liara threw back all seven as quickly as she could and gave her bondmate a disgusted look, “I can’t believe you drink that every day.” She held out her hand for the chocolate and Jane gave it to her.

“Um… you also need to drink this daily now… I suggest you do it like Jane, just before breakfast.” Karin told her, she turned to Edi. “How much longer until we get to the ship?”

Edi glanced off for a moment. “Three hours.”

Karin nodded, “Can you forward a message to Ra’yven, ask her to come immediately.”

Edi nodded and paused for a moment. “And done… and an Okay.”

“Rest for now but I want you in the med bay when Ra’yven comes.” Karin ordered and Liara nodded as her mouth was currently working on the candy Jane had given her, already she looked more alert. Karin gathered her things and left with Edi.

“Are you hoping Ra’yven will be able to explain this?” Edi asked.

“I hope so. Regardless I think we’ve all grown a little complacent about Jane being in control of her technology.” Karin told her.

*

“Hi Karin, Edi sent word that you wanted to talk?” Ra’yven questioned as she walked into the med bay, she was in work clothes as she was here doing the final structural checks before they were sealed all up. They had started building the substructure three years ago but it was an engineering feat they were creating, a ship able to travel at imaginable speeds and then be able to transform into a space station. Everyone involved had taken their time to do it right, Ra’yven had been right, the ship didn’t need to be complete, just complete enough for them to go. The Geth could finish while they travelled, it was also decided that they would build a new Normandy on the way, the SRV-2 was going to be turned into a museum piece.

“Something like that.” Karin replied.

A few moments later Jane walked in with Liara and helped her up onto an examination bench. Ra’yven tried to read the room as her technology connected with Jane’s and then instinctively sort out the new source within Liara. Her eyes went wide and without even being prompted she walked over to Liara and scanned her. Ra’yven’s omni-tool was nothing like Karin’s or anyone else’s for that matter as she had completely redesigned it. Karin could only tell that Liara had Jane’s unique micro-bots in her, Ra’yven however could tell how many and could tell that half had bunkered in Liara’s liver already at work building the micro-production hub they needed to make more bots. The others were already at work binding their technology to Liara’s genetics so that her body would naturally accept them as being a part of her body instead of being an invader.

Ra’yven glanced to Jane as she thought, no one in the room rushed her, just letting her think this through. After a while she nodded and then glanced around waiting for the first question.

“Should we be concerned that Jane’s tech is doing what it wants.” Karin asked.

Ra’yven shook her head, “Technically it hasn’t.” she told Karin firmly, she had investigated how Jane had awoken her tech, how she had managed to reach the machines and change them. “So… I think you’ve all forgotten… what brought Jane back to life during the wave, what mental image she used to keep going.”

“My face,” Liara stated. It had only happened a few times, back shortly after the war when Jane’s nightmares had been so consuming that she had tried to help and had melded a few times into those nightmares, one of them was of an almost all consuming darkness that Jane had struggled against with her face being what kept her fighting the darkness of death.

Ra’yven nodded, “Your face… you… are literally the reason why Jane lives according to them. As sophisticated as Jane’s tech is, it is still very simplistic in thought patterns and problem solving, that will change as they grow and age. Loosing Liara… is unacceptable to them because it would hurt Jane, easiest way to prevent that… protect her… be inside her. Jane’s body may have created the bots inside you, but they aren’t coded her body, they are coding themselves to you. They are yours and since they came from Jane, they are at the same development as Jane’s.”

“How is that possible?” Karin asked.

Ra’yven sighed, “I keep forgetting this isn’t my peoples time… tech sharing was normal back then and a part of the bonding process, the very act of sharing micro-bots or implants was a way of tying yourself closer to your mate. Eventually some of Liara’s bots will go to Jane’s body.” She explained.

Karin considered Jane for a moment. “Could this be expanded to other people.”

Ra’yven considered her for a few moments then frowned. “It could in theory, however it would only work on people Jane considers important, she will have to image them in her mind as she produces the bots and then they will only work in the person intended, Jane will have to know EVERYTHING about them to do it.”

“Theory?” Edi asked, usually Ra’yven had much more definitive answers for them.

Ra’yven rolled her eyes at the AI, “I get why you are turning to me for answers. But you have to understand Jane’s done 3 things that make her very different to me and my people.”

“How so?” Liara asked.

“Firstly, she awoke technology she shouldn’t have been able to. Miranda let me see what she had on the original tech in Jane, I don’t know how she did it but she did. Then… she managed to age them, rapidly, she did what took me, a person with dedicated training and mentors, half a century, in a year. Finally, she managed to get them to restructure themselves completely, what Miranda put in her to bring her back, no longer exists.” Ra’yven explained. “If I could go back in time and take Jane with me… plonk her down in front of my peoples ‘experts’ their minds would be blown. They wouldn’t even know how to answer some of the question’s you guys are throwing at me. I’m making educated guesses based on what I’ve learnt about Jane’s tech, the tech it was based on and what I know of Technomancy.”

“Forgive them,” Jane told her, “Your guesses… are better than our blank stares.”

Ra’yven nodded, “I understand and you’ve changed ideas that had been set for my people for generations so don’t worry about it.” She paused for a moment, “You know… before I could speak, while I was in that cell, I thought it would have been better for me to have died with the rest of them. I questioned the Cosmos’s decision to protect and hide me only to throw me into a world so very different to the one I knew. Then I met you and everything started to make sense, why I was spared.”

Jane walked over and gave Ra’yven a big hug as she felt the other woman needed it. Karin rubbed Ra’yven’s back until Edi and Liara joined the hug.

Slowly everyone pulled back, “Better?” Jane asked.

Ra’yven nodded, “I didn’t know how much I needed that.” She told the room she then glanced to Karin. “By the way who were you thinking of getting Jane to produce bots for.”

“Honestly, myself, maybe Jeff, I’m going with you on this mission, I am not young for a human so I have been looking for another doctor to be on board to help, and the station will have a full medical staff.” Karin explained. “And Jeff could use help, his condition is manageable but…”

Jane nodded. “I will try to figure out what I need to know to create bots for other people.”

Ra’yven hummed, “Might be easier to do it before going into stasis, we are using a modified design from my people so you are suspended in a liquid which negates the effects of speed. Slows the body down to almost nothing… well… metabolically your body will probably only think it was under a week instead of six hundred plus years but the tech will live those six hundred years, doing what they need to do to bond, repair and even age regress.”

“Yeah, the designs are awesome.” Karin remarked, the fact that the chambers didn’t have to be modified for races like the ones the Andromeda Arks use, meant that they had less things to have to calibrate. There were also fewer risks, no one knew what being in stasis for so long would do, Ra’yven and Javik were really rare cases, no long-term studies had been done to research the effects of long-term stasis. They couldn’t reuse the Prothean stasis devices as they were race specific but when Ra’yven proved that her chamber wasn’t they had decided to go with a design that could keep someone is stasis for millions of years with no permanent side effects.

“Could they… heal Joker?” Jane asked.

Ra’yven frowned, “Probably not, however they might be able to lessen the effects of his condition, weave metal through his bones giving them strength, removing stress on them, even straightening them out.”

“Okay… I really need to figure this out then.” Jane remarked as she checked her omni-tool. “May as well start breakfast.”

“Can I help?” Edi asked and Jane nodded as a group they left the med-bay and to the kitchen. Liara started to make coffee as Edi and Jane started to make breakfast.

Samantha walked in with a yawn. “Please say you are making tea as well as breakfast.”

Liara chuckled as she put down the pot of tea she had just made, “Give it a few minutes.” She told Samantha.

Slowly the crew filtered in for breakfast, they didn’t have to worry about handover for the night shift because they had mostly gone to bed the moment, they had docked with the ship yard.

Edi and Jane worked quickly putting together a simple breakfast but one that would be devoured by the crew.

Legionnaire joined them just as Jane was finishing up, he had left the Harbinger data project to be in charge of construction of the ship. He had also already put his name forward to go with her as a part of Team Normandy and although Glitch wasn’t too happy about losing Legionnaire as he was quite high in their odd hierarchy, she accepted that it was his choice to go.

Jane had been quite surprised at the influx of interest in those wanting to go, far more than the ship could hold so they were carefully making criteria as to what skills people needed to have to match the jobs and needs of the station. More so when she realised that all her friends had put their names forward to take back their positions on the Normandy. Thea had been right; a lot of powerful people were leaving the Milky way galaxy with Jane but at the same time it was understandable as they had also adopted Jane’s mission of wiping out the Reapers. The six that were left alive irritated them and as a group they were uniquely qualified to go after them. Even two new names had also made the list of joining the Normandy Team that would fight with Jane and new crew members who had been handpicked to fill the crew compliment needed for a battle slash exploration ship as that is what the Normandy would become, a ship of peace keeping exploration.

Jane finished her coffee and handed the cup to a crewman who was starting to wash dishes. “Okay let’s go get this inspection over with.”

Legionnaire nodded, “This way Shepard Commander.”

“Seriously… still not Jane.” Jane complained as Ra’yven, Samantha and Liara joined them. Legionnaire just ignored her as they left the Normandy.

“We finished the stress tests on the fusion welds,” Legionnaire told Ra’yven.

“And?” Ra’yven asked as she was handed a pad by a harried Salarian worker.

“The way you designed where and how the welds happen, we had no fractures or separated welds.” Legionnaire answered.

Ra’yven read the pad and smiled, “Awesome we are going to try the transformation.” She bounced a little before them, she was splitting her time between here and Grissom but she was having the time of her life.

“Really… you guys are that far along?” Jane asked.

Ra’yven frowned, “Yes and no.” she stated as they came to a large viewing platform. “As you can see, we’ve only completed the substructure. This is the first test to make sure the structure moves as it is meant to, then we will put on the external and internal hulls, decks, put way above the weight we’ve predicted to be on it and do another test to make sure everything moves properly.” She explained.

Jane glanced over the structure, it was huge, a lot bigger than she had pictured in her mind. The viewing deck started to fill as the people who were working on the ship station came to watch the engineering marvel they had built.

Ra’yven initiated the program, there was a slight delay but the structure slowly started to move, some of the decks slowly moved into new positions as the outer structure started to expand, it took a little longer than Ra’yven had originally designed but slow and steady was best.

“Wow… it’s huge.” Jane remarked out loud.

“But necessary,” Ra’yven stated before she turned to the people around her. “Good work everyone.” There were cheers. “Let’s move onto the next phase.”

*

Several days later Jane was sitting at her desk on the Citadel looking over lists, some were to do with the ship but mostly they were council business. Thea, Bakara, Sparatus and she had managed to refine the petition process, cutting out a lot of unnecessary repetition and a pre-petition process which helped to streamline the whole process. The person most likely to replace her was working as the assistant councillor, a new position which had been made to help the main councillor with their work load, walked in.

Jane glanced up from a pad. “Debra…” she quickly checked her schedule that her harried assistant kept for her.

Debra gave Jane a friendly smile as she scanned her monitor. A scar marred part of the left side of her face, starting from her chin and snaked all the way up into her hairline above her right eye and her left arm and leg had been replaced with implants although she was told to think about getting cloned limbs. She had volunteered to the militia during the Reaper war and made quite a name for herself amongst the survivors and fighters. So much that when the assistant councillor position was made, she was voted in with a landslide.

“Sorry to intrude,” Debra told her.

Jane sighed, “For a moment there you made me think I missed an appointment.”

Debra chuckled as she sat with a sigh as she stretched out her right leg.

“How is your leg?” Jane asked.

“Painful, but an Asari doctor swears that they can completely reconstruct it and fix the damage.” She explained.

“Right you are going in today for your operation.” Jane remembered.

Debra nodded, “once they have my right leg fixed, they want to start cloning a replacement for my left.” She explained with a New Yorker accent as she touched her left leg with her mechanical left arm.

“But you don’t want to do you?” Jane remarked.

Debra watched Jane for a moment, like her, Jane had refused to have her facial scars removed, they had faded over the years but were still there to be seen. “No… do you think me crazy, because I want to be reminded?”

Jane shook her head, “No… I get it…” she told Debra as she touched her side where the scar of the wound that killed her during the wave sat, Karin had asked her if she wanted it removed. Jane response was to get a tattoo next to it that followed its lines, it read, had to be me, someone else might have gotten it wrong… Mordin Solus.

“I wasn’t even a soldier, I just had to do something… I lost so many friends.” Debra said with a slightly sad tone.

Jane nodded in understanding; she knew Debra’s history. Originally, she was a personal assistant, working for a building company until the war started. She had managed to survive the initial attack and made it to a group of soldiers who were covering retreating civilians. In the confusion she tripped over the body of a fallen marine and husks rushed at her. She took the fallen weapon and used it to take out the husks. She then stripped the fallen man of his webbing and ammo and raced to help the soldiers and they had been grateful for the help. Debra dressed in a skirt suit and pumps, with the fallen soldiers webbing over it and a heavy Avenger 8 in her hands, had been captured by a news camera and had in a way encouraged others to pick up fallen weapons and join the fight. So much in fact that the media made a habit of keeping up with what she was doing to keep the resistance going, just like they kept tabs on what Jane was doing, letting Earth know there was a plan, to keep fighting. The arm and leg she had lost when a truck had been flipped by a Brute just days before the battle of London, having managed to just get out of the way, both limbs had been trapped by truck and completely destroyed.

Replacements had been hastily designed and built by a Geth who had attached itself to their unit when Geth started to join the fighting. They were installed because they needed everyone at their bunker to be able to move just in case the bunker was compromised and move, they did as the Reapers came down on them and the non-combatants they were protecting. The fighting was fierce but Debra managed to rally her people, hold them together and protect the civilians just long enough. The crucible wave hit them even as Debra was dragging a person back behind a hastily constructed barricade, they had survived. Shortly after the Geth returned to their mobile frames, they rebuilt her arm and leg, making them stronger and a better fit for her while she waited for proper replacements. That Geth… was Glitch.

“Glitch still tinkering with them?” Jane asked.

“Yes, although she’s also started suggesting I get organic replacements recently… I was so tempted to tell her to shove it up her arse but… she’s Glitch.” Debra remarked with a grin.

Jane chuckled, “Geth… who would have thought it.” She remarked and Debra nodded. “Enjoying working with Glitch again?”

Debra gave her a small smile, “I am, we formed a bond… or at least I think we did.”

Jane nodded, “Hard to tell with Geth… but does she just come by to visit?” she asked.

Debra nodded, “she uses an excuse, normally she wants to check my artificial limbs.” She explained.

“But she sticks around, afterwards doesn’t she?” Jane asked and Debra nodded. “Then she does consider you a friend, you do have a bond but she doesn’t understand it. You might have to straight out tell her how you feel about her, what you consider your relationship to be before she can understand what she is feeling. Had the same problem with Legion and Legionnaire, not so much with Edi.”

There was a beep on Jane’s intercom, Jane touched the button, “yes Maggie?”

“Glitch is here for her appointment Commander.” Was the reply.

“Tell her to come through please.” Jane told her.

“Of course, Commander.”

Debra chuckled as Jane released the button. “Commander… not Madam Councillor?”

Jane rubbed the back of her neck, “Yeah well… she tried… but I kept forgetting to respond to her.”

Debra laughed heartily as Glitch walked in and paused, “Have I interrupted?” she asked.

Jane shook her head. “No Glitch, Debra just stopped by to chat.”

Glitch went and grabbed the chair she used when she was here, it was a block of metal, nothing special but it was the right size for Glitch. Placing it down next to Debra she sat, a panel on the front of her chest opened, she reached in and pulled out two pads before the panel shut.

“Council business or station business?” Debra asked.

“Station,” Glitch answered as she checked her omni-tool and let out sound similar to a sigh. “She is never on time.”

Jane chuckled just as the sphere around the size of a softball turned on and floated into the air and moved off. Ra’yven appeared as a holo projection from the sphere.

“Sorry took a little longer than I thought to link up.” Ra’yven explained.

“You’re back at Grissom, right?” Jane asked and Ra’yven nodded.

“I have just given over all the designs for the power grids. Glitch you should be getting copies in a few minutes.” Ra’yven started and Glitch nodded as she had in fact just gotten them.

“How did the start of the second phase go?” Jane asked.

“Quickly, the panels were made they just have to be installed.” Ra’yven answered. “The first of the six housing wards is being roughed out as is the commercial and recreation ward and the military ward.”

“Roughed out?” Glitched asked.

Ra’yven nodded, “The frame work and space allotment. The actual construction of the housing wards and the completion of the commercial and recreation ward will be completed on route. Can’t have the Geth on board getting bored during the trip.” Ra’yven remarked and Glitch nodded.

“However, the Geth will have to work in rotation, have down time,” Jane said firmly. “I don’t want them over working, I want them to explore themselves, find out the things that make them happy and grow.”

“Thank you, Jane,” Glitch told her honestly. Jane didn’t see Geth as tools or as Mechs, she saw them as living, feeling beings. The amount of people who saw them as tools and Mechs to be ordered around was dwindling and she was sure that was because of the way Jane treated them. How, when a Geth was deliberately tripped she stopped what she was doing and helped the Geth up, checked to make sure they were alright and then she berated the person who did it. Cameras had caught the entire incident and it had been replayed often.

If Jane could befriend the races she once used to fight and treat them with dignity and respect the rest of the universe should. Or at least that was the message that people got. Nor was it the first time such footage was taken, her defending a Batarian who had simply wanted directions from a fellow human, mediating between a Salarian and a Krogan and many more such interactions. There were always cameras on Jane, people watching and as Jane tended to act exactly how she spoke it really rammed home her own point about working together to create a future.

“Hey, don’t thank me for simply reminding you of your rights… but I might have to make sure all Geth going with me are just as informed.” Jane quickly scribbled a note in a pad to remind herself to get someone to write a bunch of acceptable work hours regulations so that there were clear guidelines as to how much work people were required to do and what could be asked of them.

“Now… we are building for half a million…” Ra’yven stated.

“But we aren’t taking more than three hundred thousand with us.” Jane told her, she was being firm on this, they could fill the ship but caution had her pulling back. If things were bad, they might have to shelter the Andromeda Initiative, they would need that space and resources for them.

“Right… just in case…” Ra’yven remarked.

“Have to hope for the best but plan for the worse.” Jane stated and got nods it was more likely that they wouldn’t take more than a quarter million people with them giving them room to grow if they had the option. A third of that number were going to be young children. Jane made another note to make sure that there was a rule about making sure families were woken together, she was not going to be responsible for separating families.

“But you still want all the chambers made right?” Ra’yven asked.

“They are being manufactured on Rannoch; you don’t have to worry about them.” Jane told her.

“I will most definitely worry about them.” Ra’yven stated a little indignant. “Once they are delivered, I will make sure they meet all specs and I might have to modify some, mine… yours…”

“Okay,” Jane said cutting off Ra’yven, it had been decided that people didn’t need to know too much about Jane and her side effects, Liara now having tech had been deemed a part of those side effects. “How are you going with resources… do you have enough?” she asked.

Ra’yven appeared to shuffle through pads on her desk and checked a few. “Recent shipment of Element Zero from Omega is being put to use. That was the only thing we were short on at the moment.”

“Good. How much longer until you run tests on our version of the Odyssey drive?” Jane asked.

Ra’yven had taken one look at the Odyssey drive plans Liara had and said, ‘I can make it better,’ and to the shock of some of the surviving engineers who originally made it, she had. “A few more weeks, I want to run a few stress tests and if it passes, we’ll install it.” She answered.

“Awesome… anything else we need to go over?” Jane asked.

Ra’yven shook her head.

“There have been a couple of cyber-attacks, nothing has gotten through but the attacks are getting stronger.” Glitch brought up.

“Okay… do we know what they are after or what they want to do?” Jane asked, the project was not a secret, they made regular announcements and the designs were open for viewing.

“I think they were trying to effect the selection criteria.” Glitch explained.

Jane frowned, “Most of the people who know they are going are already in the process of training or retraining. I mean the list isn’t filled; they could try to slip names in but…”

“I’ll talk to Edi about beefing up the cyber security.” Glitch told her and Jane nodded.

“Thanks Glitch, and that is all.” Jane said to the room.

“I will give you an update the closer we are to the engine test; in case you want to be there.” Ra’yven glanced off to someone they couldn’t see. “Sorry I have to go; I am sitting in on a Doctoral rebuttal. It is a little controversial so it might get rowdy.”

“Say hi to my bondmate for me,” Jane told her and Ra’yven smiled, Liara was in fact chairing this Doctorial rebuttal mainly because she was considered the foremost expert in the field. Dr Ann Bryson was also going to be there as a chair on the rebuttal committee. Ra’yven was taking the final seat, in the five years since being placed in Grissom she had gained at least five science-based doctorates that were taught and one that had to be made up because she literally created the new field of study, although to her it was an old field.

“Okay… but nothing more than hi. You two are way too sappy.” Ra’yven told her before she reached forward and disconnected from the sphere, the sphere returned to its charging dock.

Debra chuckled in amusement then frowned as her stomach rumbled.

Glitch turned to her, “You are hungry, should we go get food?”

“I’m fine Glitch, I have to fast before going in for my operation.” She checked the time, “Which reminds me, why I came here,” she handed Jane the pad in her hand. “The next lot of approved petitions, I have investigated them and made notes of any points you can go over or clarify plus any ideas I had to help solve it. I have forwarded copies to the others.”

Jane nodded, “Thanks for doing that. Now… go get that leg fixed. I will see you in a week.”

Debra stood as did Glitch although Glitch returned her seat to a safer spot.

“I am free… would you like…” Glitch hesitated.

“I would love the company my friend,” Debra told her and Glitch paused.

“Friend?” Glitch questioned.

Debra gave Glitch a grumpy look, “Seriously… you didn’t think we were friends… after everything we’ve been through. Dude if you were human, I would have made you my blood sister, that makes you family you silly Geth.” She grabbed Glitch’s arm and tugged her out of Jane’s office.

Jane smiled as she watched the friends leave her office. It would hurt Glitch when Debra eventually dies but she hoped that by then Debra would have had the chance to teach Glitch about saying goodbye to friends forever and grown her group of friends to support her when that time comes. It would be something she would have to learn to cope with as that was the curse of synthetic life verses organic, synthetic life had no life expectancy restrictions like organic life did. Geth would watch the people they come to care about die on them, but it was their job to teach Geth how to grieve and how to cope with the loss. She made a note to remember to tell people that, if they wanted to truly help the Geth understand what it meant to live they had to help them cope with death.

**

Jane glanced to her omni-tool as it started to beep, Thea grinned as Aria paused the vid they were watching. “Please… can we pick something else… Blasto defeats the Reapers… Vaenia has a better story line and that is Porn.” Aria complained.

“It is not Porn… It is an adult film.” Thea argued.

“Which is full of sex…” Aria told her. “Full display, climax and all. It is Porn.”

Jane answered the call and flicked it to a sphere so that Liara could see and interact with everyone. Ra’yven’s target spheres had been a big hit when they became common knowledge, mainly through Jane using hers for training. They were used for so many different applications than the one Ra’yven had originally designed for them, they were used for communications, structural inspections and many more. “How was your rebuttal my love.” Jane asked.

“Kind of glad I chose to call after I got dressed.” Liara remarked, she was also using a sphere so they could see her lounging on their bed on Grissom.

“Wanted some phone sex huh?” Aria asked.

Liara gave Aria an annoyed look. “No, I wanted to see my bondmate, if I had wanted sex, why did I get dressed after my shower instead being naked?”

“You could always strip; it would be a much better show than Blasto defeats the Reapers.” Aria told her.

“Why are we friends again?” Liara asked.

Aria grinned, “Because you want to fuck me.” Thea gave Aria a nudge to shut her up.

“How was the rebuttal?” Jane asked again.

“Unruly, ultimately the Thesis was discredited.” Liara stated. “I mean who in their right mind would write a thesis advocating the Harvest cycle that we just managed to survive. I mean, in a way we wouldn’t have been able to rise and become what we did without the cycle but advocating genocide… mass genocide, the ways does not justify the means.”

“Is that why it was discredited?” Thea asked.

Liara shook her head, “No, several of the premises in the thesis were woefully flawed or completely incorrect in their interpretation. Ra’yven managed to destroy the math they used, I managed to blow holes in their theories about the motives of the Reapers and the Leviathans who created them.”

“How did they take that?” Aria asked, some people did not like to be questioned, she was one of those people so she had an idea as to what would have gone down.

Liara took a deep breath and reached for the tumbler with a few fingers of Serrice Ice Brandy she took a sip. “Not good… they questioned my expertise, I reminded them that I literally… wrote the books on it.” Liara told them and got laughs. Over the years since the end of the war Liara had written papers and books on everything they had learnt about the Reapers, the Leviathans and the extinction cycles as had Dr Bryson, they were considered the foremost experts in this field.

“How could they do that? You have evidence for your conclusions, it’s not conjectures.” Jane questioned.

“Hence the reason they were shot down for their thesis. Since they attacked another participant they have been arrested and will be tested to make sure they aren’t indoctrinated.” Liara answered, most of the people who were heavily indoctrinated died during the wave or committed suicide soon after. Low level indoctrinated however were still being found and still firmly believed the Reapers were our genetic destiny. There was no way to remove the indoctrination and to date Jane was the only person to have successfully repel it, she had been tested several times after the war. So those found to have been indoctrinated were locked up on a planet to live out the rest of their days after being sterilised so as not to breed, it had been deemed the most, ethical way to deal with the problem.

Liara glanced to something they couldn’t see, “Enter.” She said as she got up and left the room, taking her glass and the sphere with her.

“Hey Kahlee,” Liara greeted.

“Oh hello…” Kahlee said as she noticed the others.

“Hey Kahlee are you going to feed my bondmate?” Jane asked, “Because if David is cooking… I’m afraid for her life.”

“Ha… ha…” David said as he joined them. “I haven’t killed my wife yet.”

“Although I am no longer stupid enough to try to eat his food anymore.” Kahlee remarked.

David gave her a hurt look, “Once… we got food poisoning once and it wasn’t my fault, that seafood was meant to be fresh.”

Liara turned to Jane, “Enjoy your movie,” she told them before she blew Jane a kiss and cut the feed. The door rang.

“That better be the pizza.” Aria stood, “If I come back and that movie is on… I will make you regret it. Pick something else.” She stalked from the room to get the food.

Jane watched Thea for a moment as she thought. “Blasto cures the Geno phage?” she asked with a big toothy grin and Thea started to laugh.

“I am pretty sure Aria will hurt you if any of the Blasto movies are on.” Thea told her.

“You bet your blue arse,” Aria said as she walked in with a few boxes.

“Fleet and Flotilla?” Jane questioned.

“No… no sappy love movies.” Aria vetoed as she sat the pizza down.

“Last of the Legion?” Jane asked.

“Explosions…” Aria agreed.

Thea sighed, “Bad acting.”

“But good explosions.” Jane said agreeing with Aria as she brought it up on her omni-tool and hit play.

“If I must… pour me another Red Thessian and hand me a plate.” Thea said as she glanced to Jane only to see her lifting a slice to her mouth with no plate, she then glanced to Aria who was also eating a slice.

Jane put her slice down as she finished chewing and then stood. “Your right… alcohol goes best with pizza but we are having beer.”

“Nice,” Aria added as she paused the movie, Jane left to go get beers, a few moments later she returned and plonked bottles of beer on the table.

“Seriously… no plates… no cups…” Thea complained.

“Napkin,” Jane offered her a napkin. Thea sighed as she took the napkin and then reached for a slice. Aria cracked her open a beer and offered it to her bondmate before opening one herself. Jane opened a beer and then offered the neck to Aria who tapped her own to Jane’s as they started to eat and enjoy the movie.

****

Five years more…

Jane followed Legionnaire into the area where Normandy Team and some of the Crew were going to be stored during the journey. In a little under 4 hours they will be flung into dark space at speeds none of them had ever experienced before. The Rachni queen had offered her own relay to be used for this and as it was in the perfect spot for them, they had taken the offer. Over the last few years, the Rachni had been tentatively accepted into diplomatic talks with the Council. Backed up by Jane and Bakara going to the Rachni home world with cameras to show that the Rachni had changed which allowed them to make the non-aggression treaty. They were no longer the mindless monsters the Krogan had almost made extinct. It also helped that they tended to stick to their space but when they learnt that resources were needed to build this ship to make sure the sour notes never returned. They had delivered the much-needed resources and even sent workers to help build, all in good faith.

“This one is yours,” Legionnaire told her. Her team stood around joking with each other, the new faces in her team were Nhiami and Ra’yven but all the old faces were there, Aria being one of those old faces. Jane had already said her good bye speech, reminding everyone to take care of each other. The council had replied that they would and be looking forward to showing Jane the proof of her trust that they could do what the Reapers didn’t think they could. The Council then went on to wish them good luck, to which Jane and her team replied as one, we don’t need luck we’ve got ammo.

Karin wheeled a cart into place and everyone gathered around. “As you know, Jane’s did something weird five years ago.”

There were chuckles. “When is she not doing something weird?” Jack asked.

“Yeah like reforming old Mercs and young Criminals.” Zaeed remarked and got more laughs.

“Spouting on and on about Ancient machines hell bent on destroying us all,” Thea added.

“Hey…” Jane went to defend herself, “shit even I can barely believe I did that some days.”

Karin nodded, “Five years ago Jane learnt she can make un-coded micro-bots and gift them to someone else.” She continued before this devolved further.

“Everyone here, I consider important, I won’t force you and won’t feel hurt if you decide not to.” Jane stated.

Karin removed the cover, clearly labelled hypo sprays sat on the cart, one for each of them except for Legionnaire, Karin and Ra’yven. Even Edi’s partially organic frame could be enhanced by Jane’s tech.

“Where’s yours?” Ashley asked Karin as she lifted hers from the table.

“Already took it.” Karin told her and Ra’yven nodded.

“Yep already setting up in your liver and coding to your body.” She confirmed for everyone.

James picked up his spray, “didn’t kill the Docs.” He held it to his neck and before anyone could stop him, he pressed the button. Ashley shrugged and quickly followed her husband. One by one they grabbed their sprays and injected them.

Tali took off her helmet, she didn’t have to wear it unless she was going to an uncleared world. Her eyes glowed silver with no visible pupil, her skin was pale with visible veins and a slightly rough texture, ears hugged the side of her face, slightly too big but it seemed to fit her long face, it took a bit to get used to but Jane was slowly getting there. She pressed her spray to her neck and pressed the button. Garrus picked up his and frowned, “How exactly am I meant to use this?” he asked.

“Press it to your tongue,” Karin told him and he followed her instructions.

Jack, Miranda, Samara, Nhiami, Edi, Zaeed, Jeff, Gabby, Kenneth and Javik didn’t hesitate, Samantha did but only for a few moments.

“Me too,” Thea remarked as she noticed a spray with her name on it next to Aria’s.

Jane glanced around, “you are here right… I did say everyone here I consider important. Includes you.”

Aria handed her the spray with her name on it, lifting it to her neck she pressed the button in time with Aria. Grunt was the last to grab his spray and like Garrus he pressed the spray to his tongue and pressed the button.

Jane sighed, “Seriously Kasumi… we’re going to see you without your cowl when we strip down to underwear. Stop hiding.”

“Why did I agree to this again?” Kasumi asked as she reappeared.

“We need you; you won’t be on the Normandy fighting. You’ll be sneaking around, information gathering, occasional theft if needed.” Jane told her.

“I know… and you better find me a hunk to stalk.” She said as she pulled down her cowl, her N7 tattoo sat on the left side of her neck, loud and proud for those who got the chance to see it. Holding the spray to her neck she injected it.

“Okay, now that everyone is injected, we need to set up drips, you are going to need to feed your bots and bodies even though you will be in deep sleep.” Karin told everyone. “Please strip down to the approved underwear you should be wearing and stand before your chamber.” Considering everyone was wearing sweats of sorts except for Tali, she was just so used to wearing her suit but she was peeling herself out of it.

Garrus cleared his throat as he noticed people staring. “Hey… stop staring at my wife!” he declared even as he unzipped the loose hoody he was wearing in place of his armour.

“Sorry… but you have to admit we are curious.” Jane said as she took off her shoes.

“Are you sure I don’t have to be knocked out?” Grunt asked Karin as she finished connecting his drip, it would feed diluted amounts of metals and nutrients the micro-bots would need to do their work while they slept.

“You don’t but if you want, I can get Jane to come over and headbutt you.” Karin told him as he stepped back into his chamber.

“Nah… I’m good.” He told her as he carefully he slid into the harness which would hold him up if there was an emergency evacuation of the chamber and clipped it closed. Karin then helped him into the air mask that was held in place with a strap.

“Now just be calm, once the chamber is full, you’ll fall asleep, you won’t even realise it.” She told him as she pressed the close button, the moment the chamber was sealed it started to fill, Karin stayed with him, letting him know he was safe. As big and burly the Krogan was, he was still relatively young, just when the liquid reached his chest his eyes started to close as he relaxed completely. Once he was out, she moved onto the others, she didn’t linger with them, she just hooked them up made sure their masks were on and they were secure before moving on. Miranda was also helping getting people into their chambers.

Karin came to stand before Ra’yven and smiled at her, “you would think you’ve had enough sleep?” she questioned as she inserted the drip.

“Maybe… but… new galaxy… new technology… I’m so excited.” Ra’yven explained as she clicked her harness in place and then put on her mask. Karin inserted the drip, checked the mask before she closed the chamber.

Finally, it was down to just Miranda, Jane and Karin. Edi re-joined them in back in her AI form using a sphere as a platform as her normal platform was currently in the chamber next to Jeff’s. Jane watched as Miranda took her spot next to Jack’s after she slid off her wedding ring and attached it to her tags, she strapped herself in and slid on her mask. Karin checked the mask before she inserted the drip and closed the chamber.

“Your turn Commander.” Karin told her.

“I would rather be the last one in Karin.” Jane told her.

“Yes, but can you…” Karin started to say but the canular was already in Jane’s hand, she just had to attach it. “Okay… but Legionnaire has to check you over before you close up.” She said as she went to her chamber and striped down to her underwear, in moments she was locked into her harness. It was quite simple for her to insert her drip.

Jane helped her into her mask and checked to make sure it was on properly, once she was happy, she smiled at Karin, “See you on the other side Karin.” Jane said as she closed the chamber. Karin gave her a thumbs up then gestured her to move on while the chamber filled.

Jane moved to her chamber beside Liara’s, she turned to Edi and Legionnaire, “Don’t forget to work in moderation,” she told the pair as she stepped back into her chamber, slipping into her harness she locked herself in.

“Don’t worry Shepard Commander, we understand the rules.” Legionnaire told her.

“You have over six hundred years. Don’t forget to keep in contact with the Milky way galaxy, learn from them and then teach them what you’ve improved. Explore ideas and have a little fun.” She told them.

“We will,” Edi told her.

Jane connected her drip and then reached for her mask and pulled it on. Legionnaire checked that the mask was on correctly.

“We will see you when you wake,” Legionnaire told her. Jane gave him a thumbs up and he pressed the close button on her chamber. Jane relaxed as the chamber filled with liquid.

Legionnaire watched Jane for a few moments. “We have an hour to finish checks before we get flung into dark space.” He told Edi.

“I will run the program Ra’yven wrote to check the chambers are all working properly.” Edi told him.

“I will start moving us into position.” He told her, technically Edi was in charge as she was considered the most senior but Jane had entrusted them both to be in charge.


	12. Chapter 12 ~ Waking up 620 years later

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 12 ~ Waking up 620 years later.

(1 month after the Hyperion met the scourge)

Legionnaire watched as Jane’s chamber emptied, they were only a few months away from their destination and the ship was finally going slow enough to wake people. They had double and triple checked the readings as well as waited an extra month, waking some organic animals just to be sure. Since everything came back okay, they were confident to start waking people, or at least people who could survive if they were wrong.

Jane twitched but twitching was normal, he had seen it before when he was doing his rounds and Ra’yven had told them it would happen, slowly her eyes opened and she blinked a few times as she tried to get her bearings.

Reaching up she pulled her mask off and took a deep breath, “Are we there yet?” she asked and there was laughter from other chambers which held humans.

“Man, she stole my line,” Jack complained and there was more laughter.

“I said it first, so obviously it was my line,” Jane quipped back.

“Everyone, your bodies are going to be sluggish, take your time while you are still in your harness, stretch your limbs, move them for a couple of minutes. Trust me.” Ra’yven called out.

“I’m sticky,” Samantha complained.

“We all are,” Aria told her.

“We are there right?” Jane asked seriously.

Legionnaire nodded, “About three months away at our current speed, enough time to get you used to new weapons, our ship and the Normandy SRV-5.” He told her.

“5… what happened to 3 and 4?” Jane asked as she stretched and moved her limbs as Ra’yven told her to.

“We scrapped them.” He told her honestly.

“Hey do we finally have a name for this place?” Jane asked, she didn’t want to keep referring to it as the ship but when they launched the galaxy had still not settled on a name.

“Yes… 10 years late but they decided on a name.” he told her.

“SHUT UP EVEYRONE WE FINALLY HAVE A NAME!” Jane called to cut off the chatting everyone was doing.

“Finally,” Thea breathed.

Jane gestured for Legionnaire to tell them. “There was a big argument but they settled on… Defiance.”

Jane considered the name for a moment and nodded, “Defiance… I like it.”

“Rebels with a cause,” Garrus called out and got laughs in response.

“Councillor Debra Owens campaigned hard for it.” Legionnaire told her.

Jane paused for a moment, a little pensive, she made a mental note to chat with Glitch, make sure she was okay even though it would be hundreds of years late.

“Before you release your harness and leave your chamber, disconnect your drip.” Karin called.

Edi was the first person out of her chamber, “man I missed having my body.” She said as she did a few more stretches before she went to her husband.

Jane disconnected her drip then her harness, her feet touched the ground and she carefully took her first few steps. Jane did a couple of twists before she turned to watch Liara walk out, Jane opened her arms and Liara almost melted into them.

“Get a room!” Jack complained completely ignoring the fact that she had her arms around Miranda.

“Seriously Jack,” Karin complained, Jane turned and had to do a double take, it sounded like Karin, it even looked like Karin but a much younger version, everyone stared in stock.

“Wow… Karin…” Jane remarked.

“So, the age regression worked?” Karin questioned but her eyes were focused on Jeff as he took hesitant steps, he seemed slightly taller. She walked over and quickly scanned him, his drip mix had been different, his medication was in it, as was an osteo mix and more metal. Karin had been hoping that the bots, although unlikely to cure his genetic condition, would at least be able to help her manage it.

“Why do I feel that if I sneeze, I won’t break a rib or two?” Jeff asked.

Karin studied her scans and smiled, “Because you won’t, you are also a few inches taller, your bots spent a lot of time reinforcing and correcting your bones. You’re not cured, but it shouldn’t be as easy for your bones to break anymore.”

“How?” Jeff asked amazed.

“Your bones have been reinforced with an internal and external metal weave.” Edi explained, she had been keeping an eye on Jeff during the journey.

Jeff smiled, “cool,” he told his wife before he pulled her in for a hug.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Edi told him as she pressed her face to his neck not caring about the slightly sticky nature of the stuff still on their skin.

“I’m sorry I left you for so long,” he said gently as he rubbed her back.

“Not your fault,” Edi told him before she finally gave him a kiss.

No one interrupted or teased them, unlike the others Edi had been awake for the trip while her partner slept. Six hundred years was a long time to miss someone.

Since the chambers were no longer in use they slid back and became a part of the wall. Jane released Liara and chuckled as their skin had stuck together in some places. “Shower,” Jane said and as she knew there was a shower/ bathroom attached to each sleeping section. Once the section was done the shower section would be shut off and then it would just become a lavatory room.

Legionnaire gestured across the hallway which this area actually was, when asked why the hallways doubled as stasis areas Ra’yven had given them perplexed looks and then answered, why waste space. “Showers and toilets with red tile boarders are for Turians and Quarians.” He added as they all started to cross the hall to shower. “We have placed sweats, underwear and shoes in there in piles with your names on it.” He finished.

“Thanks Legionnaire,” Jane called as they went to get clean and into some clothes.

Legionnaire waited outside as a cleaning team came and quickly made sure the floors were clean of any of the drips, he sent a ship wide memo letting the Geth know that Team Normandy were awake and soon they will move onto the second phase and wake those listed as the first wakers which included, Crew Normandy, some support staff as well as farmers although the Geth had prepared the fields and had even started growing crops and producing a few years ago but now they would be ramping up production. Once they got to Heleus and found a good spot to set up they would wake the second wave of wakers and once they were settled, they would wake the final wave of wakers.

Ten minutes later people started to come back out and milled in the hallway, waiting for Legionnaire to take them where they needed to go next.

Ra’yven used a tie to tie back her hair as she waited for the last few to come out. “Okay, before we do anything else you guys need to connect to your tech, Legionnaire, somewhere we can all sit and be comfortable.”

“I was going to take you to your training gym so that you could move around a little, is that okay?” he asked and Ra’yven nodded.

“Perfect,” she told him so he led them to the place in question.

They were currently in the military section of the station, where the military trained and worked, they did not live there as they lived in the housing blocks, although there were duty bunks so those who were on duty could nap if needed.

The door to their gym had a sign on it, Team Normandy use only. Jane frowned. “Hey why is this exclusive to us…”

“Are you insane?” Thea questioned, “You guys… are epic… normal people can’t keep up with you… and shit now I am one of you.” She finished a little daunted.

Aria laughed, as much as she loved Thea’s softness, ever since she started learning to fight to protect herself some of that softness had hardened, and she found it very attractive.

“You think we’ll intimidate people?” Jane asked.

Thea shook her head, everyone who had come knew very well that Team Normandy were freaks when it came to fighting. “No, but you will make them hurt themselves if they try to match you.”

“Right…” Jane remarked with a little frown. “We have an Armax Arena, right?” she asked Legionnaire who nodded.

“Yes, we will be using the League system,” he replied, “your previous scores are already on display.”

Ra’yven was quickly checking the functions of her new omni-tool, on their piles of clothes sat a new omni-tool for each of them. While she was fiddling with the tool, she checked their maths and their speed, “It’s okay to start waking the rest of the first wave. Please remind them not to rush, to stretch and move their limbs before releasing their harnesses.” She told Legionnaire who quickly relayed the message.

“Do you like your new omni-tool?” he asked, they had taken Ra’yven’s modified omni-tool and pushed it further with help from people from the Milky way.

Ra’yven frowned, “It’s good… but I am sure I can make it better once I’ve played with it.”

“Oo… no orange display,” Tali remarked as she played with her own tool and downloaded her saved data.

“No… stop playing with your omni-tools.” Ra’yven told the group. “Everyone sit comfortably, like you would for meditation.”

Everyone did as she asked, “You will have to undergo training with me daily at least until you are comfortable with what you need to do to connect to your tech but you have to understand that you have to maintain what I am teaching you or you won’t get the best connection and results from that connection.”

Everyone listened closely, this was her field and they would be stupid to not listen.

“For now, we aren’t doing anything complicated, I just want you to reach out to your tech, say hi, ask them how they are and if they need anything. If they want to chat more than that, let them, if they want to show you things, let them. If they don’t… back off they will get chatty once they know they can be chatty.” She told them. “So… just meditate and then reach out.”

Jane and Liara who were familiar with what Ra’yven was asking of them, had already slipped into meditation and were already catching up with their tech.

Samara closed her eyes and fell into the familiar pattern of meditation as she cleared all thoughts from her mind, she felt a tickle, like a faint voice. _Hello?_ She asked as she reached for the tickle.

A happy response came back at her which caused her to pause, it felt a little odd, to feel happiness but know it wasn’t exactly hers.

 _Please, I want to get to know you._ She coaxed when she felt the tickle pull back a little at her reaction to their response.

The happy response grew again but this time Samara let it wash over her. A series of images came to her as well, she guessed it was how Jane saw her, even some snap shots of her fighting and her daughters. It showed her that they recognised her, knew her from Jane’s memories.

 _How are you, did you get everything you needed during my sleep?_ She asked and got a big yes from them and they felt excited, like children who wanted to show her something so she followed them. they showed her the implants they had built, the micro-bot production centre and a few others to help her immune system, they then took her to the implant that she would attach a biotic amp to, it had been completely reworked and she got the feeling that amps were no longer needed, she would have better control of her biotics than she ever had before. She also got the feeling that they had regressed her age back, although she still felt all the power of being a Matriarch but her body was in its prime condition which was the Matron stage of her life.

_Thank you for taking care of me during my sleep, I hope we can work together from now onwards. Please let me know if you need anything, we are a part of each other, if you need something… we need something._

She got the feeling that they would let her know and that they were still slowly at work in her body. Samara opened her eyes and smiled a little. She noticed she was one of the last to open her eyes although Grunt didn’t count as it took him quite a while to fall into a mediative state.

Ra’yven walked over, “You look like you had a long chat.”

“I did,” Samara confirmed.

“Lucky you,” Aria complained, “Mine said hey, fine, no, fuck off we’re busy.”

Samara chuckled, “They at least matched your personality.”

Aria sighed, “I know… which is why I can’t get angry at them, although I don’t get what they are busy for, they’ve had six hundred years.”

“Did they regress your age?” Samara asked.

“Yes, but I still feel very powerful.” Aria remarked, before she went to sleep, she had entered her Matriarch phase of life much to her disgust.

Ra’yven scanned Aria, “they are still repairing damage they found on your spine, it was the last thing they had to do but they are being slow and methodical about it.” She explained, “Karin will tell you but any internal scars or damage will have been repaired. However, I think they might have taken a little longer with you three,” she gestured to Aria, Samara and Nhiami.

“Why?” Liara asked curious.

“They regressed your age, Asari are weird, physically they are at their strongest during their Matron phase, power wise however they are at their strongest during their Matriarch phase. You guys were all Matriarchs, they had to figure out how to regress your age but not lose your power.”

“In fact, I feel my biotics are stronger,” Aria remarked as she made her biotics flare.

“Of course, you also no longer require biotic amps.” Ra’yven told them. “You’ll have pin point control and your powers should recharge faster.”

“Hear that Shepard… once I have a handle on this you and I are finally going to decide who is better.” Aria told her confidently.

“No sparring for at least a few weeks, get used to your new bodies and powers then you can spar.” Ra’yven told the room.

****

Jane was sitting in the quarters she shared with Liara, it was as big as quarters they had on the Citadel which pleased her as they would have room for children once this was done. Liara was currently unpacking some of their things which left Jane time to make some calls. She was still dressed in her ship sweats, with badges on it that proclaimed the ship’s name Defiance.

First call was to Bakara, as a Krogan she could live as long if not longer than an Asari as long as she doesn’t get killed. She had to wait a few moments as the call went through but the quantum beacons meant that there shouldn’t be any delay.

“I’m up!” Bakara complained as she finally answered.

“Oh shit… sorry… I completely forgot about the time.” Jane apologised.

“Jane…” Bakara said as her eyes took her in and then a big smile covered her face. “You’re awake… so almost there or there?” she asked.

“Almost… a few more months but that will give us time to train and catch up.” Jane told her drinking in the sight of a familiar friend but one who had aged. “You’re the first I’ve called,” she explained.

“And one of the few people who won’t be simpering idiots when chatting with you.” Bakara stated firmly which caused Jane to laugh.

“How big has my legend grown?” Jane asked a little resigned.

“So big… so very, very big…” Bakara teased, in fact it was much easier to grow her legend when she wasn’t there to fight it tooth and nail. “We have a galaxy wide holiday it’s official name is Victory day, to celebrate the fall of the Reapers where we replay footage of the battle and your year later speech, but everyone just calls it Shepard’s day.” Bakara told her, “Oo… and statues… so many, many, many statues. There isn’t a person in the Milky way who doesn’t know about you.”

Liara wrapped her arms around Jane’s neck and rested her head on top of Jane’s, “Please stop, you know how she is, even though I believe you are fully holding back.”

“So much,” Bakara agreed and Jane groaned.

Liara kissed the top of her head and then went to walk off, “I am going to connect to the Shadow Broker network.” She had left the network in Feron’s hands but they had worked a way for her to access the Shadow Broker network when she woke. She knew he was grooming his own replacement, an Asari and had made previsions so they would know she was a previous Broker and just checking in on how things were without it being sugar coated by politicians.

Jane nodded and let her go, “How have things been?” she asked.

Bakara sighed, “A little rocky that’s why it was decided to replay your one year later speech yearly, to remind everyone of what we fought for. It settled down though, a little concern when the Batarians finally joined the council about twenty years after you left but they’ve really risen to the challenge, although they call their government the Hegemony, they are far from that.” She paused for a moment, “Right… a hundred years ago the Rachni joined the council.”

“Interesting times,” Jane remarked.

“Indeed… other than the Terminus systems joining the council nothing else has really happened except another stupid group of humans tried to pull a Cerberus… that didn’t last long when Earth turned on them.” Bakara explained then chuckled, “No one wanted to be responsible for failing you so Xenophobia may still exist but not in a big way,” she added.

Jane smiled softly. “How is Wrex?” she asked and didn’t expect Bakara to start laughing hard. “Did he die in an embarrassing way?” Jane asked when Bakara finally stopped.

“No,” Bakara replied as she dashed away a tear. “He was over thrown as clans chief…”

“No way,” Jane said with a little laugh.

“Oh no… that’s not why I was laugh… it was Mordin…” Bakara said getting to the punchline of her joke.

Jane paused for a moment, Mordin had still been a child when she left the milky-way galaxy. “Little Mordin?” she questioned.

Bakara typed for a few moments, “Not so little anymore,” she said as she brought up an image of the grown up Mordin standing next to two of her sisters. They looked imposing and impressive.

“Shepard and Aleena?” Jane asked as she recognised the pair and Bakara nodded.

“Damn… over thrown by his own daughters…” Jane remarked with a chuckle.

“And backed up heavily by one of Grunt’s.” Bakara brought up another image of another Krogan female who was carrying a massive mini gun easily with one hand. “That is Shark.”

Grunt had only been allowed to come after he had sired a couple of children and had even donated a decent amount of sperm. Grunt hadn’t minded the request and before they left, he had sired twelve children with another four on the way, all up nine boys and seven girls the oldest being a female who had bitten Jane when she went to pick her up. Jane had jokingly called her a shark as she tended the bite mark, but after some investigation the mother had decided that it was perfect name and she became Shark.

“Shit she grew up well and those are shark teeth mounted around her helmet.” Jane remarked and Bakara nodded.

“Apparently fossilised Megalodon teeth, she likes to talk about them. Tuchanka is even starting to look like a somewhat nice place to live although we’ve put restrictions on breeding now so that we don’t over populate. Also, when Krogan can leave, they have to undergo the rite and then they have to survive the wilds for a year before they can return to comfort and only then can they go into space if they want to.”

“Making the right choices,” Jane told her and Bakara nodded.

“We teach our young all about the Geno phage, about how we had brought it upon ourselves for being idiots. Then how you helped us cure it, if we don’t remember we will repeat. So far, we haven’t. We’ve even got two colonies on worlds which are habitable but not to comfy.” She explained even as she tried to cover a yawn.

“Go… get some sleep, I’ll call again later.” Jane told her.

“Call Glitch, she’ll chat with you,” Bakara told her before she cut the feed.

Liara raced back into the room, “I have footage… of Mordin kicking her father’s arse and taking his place.”

Jane laughed, “Bakara told me, I’m going to call Glitch now, no more than an hour Liara, we have to get to bed as well.”

Liara nodded and gave Jane a flirting smile, “Me I’m done, I’m going to go to bed… naked…” she teased as she walked pass Jane and ran a gloved finger over Jane’s arm. Jane felt heat pool but she fought it down, she needed to speak with Glitch. Jane made the call, she didn’t have to wait, after all Glitch didn’t have to sleep.

“Jane!” Glitch exclaimed with excitement when she noticed who was on the other side of the line.

“Glitch!” Jane greeted and was even happy that the Geth hadn’t called her Shepard Commander.

Glitch glanced off for a moment, “You still have a few months of travel but a good time to wake.” She told Jane after quickly checking the projection, the milky way galaxy were tracking where Defiance was, still as invested in its mission today as it was over six hundred years ago.

“How are you?” Jane asked.

Glitch considered her for a moment, reading the real question behind Jane’s friendly query, her shoulders slumped a little, “it was hard, when Debra died.”

“I haven’t checked, was it sudden or…” Jane asked trying to do it gently.

“Old age, I was with her when she passed…” Glitch told her. “She told me you told her to prepare me, or at least try to.”

Jane nodded, “Yeah I did, organics learn to deal with death from an early age. It never gets easy though.”

“I lost it for a little bit,” Glitch explained just as a calico cat jumped onto the desk next to her, she gave it a loving pat. “But… Debra guessed that I wouldn’t handle her death well. Three weeks after her death she gave me her final gift, a letter and a kitten.”

Jane nodded, “Can’t be depressed when you have to be responsible for another living being.”

Glitch nodded, “Basically summed up what she said in her letter.” she scratched under the cat’s chin. “Freaked me out a little, I am so big and kittens are so small and I knew nothing about pets. It hasn’t gotten any easier to say goodbye to people or things I love…”

“Never does,” Jane told her truthfully.

“But… as long as I remember them… they are never really gone.” Glitch said and then gestured over her shoulder to the wall of pets and people she had befriended and lost over the years.

Jane nodded, “What’s her name?” Jane asked.

“Scamp,” Glitch declared proudly, “A rescue all the way from earth, I got her two months ago, we’re still becoming friends.” There was a knock and a young woman walked in, Jane had to do a double take as the person walked into the room holding a pad. Except for the bright green hair and thick rimmed glasses, she could have been a young Debra before the war.

“Aunt Glitch… I… sorry I didn’t know you were…” the young woman’s jaw dropped as she saw who was on the other side of the call. “Shepard… your… Shepard…”

“Aunt Glitch?” Jane asked.

“Debra married and had children after you left, I am always Aunt Glitch by any of the family although even I admit Jasmine’s resemblance is uncanny.” Glitch explained, “they also helped when she passed. This is Jasmine, Jasmine this is Jane… a friend of your Ancestor Debra and myself.” She introduced.

“Hi,” Jane greeted with a smile.

“I mean… I saw the photos… but… you know Shepard?” she asked a little awestruck.

Jane groaned. “Bakara already told me my legend has been blown out…”

“I don’t think it has, I think you were way too humble and modest… Jane you saved our galaxy… embrace it.” Glitch told her firmly before she turned to Jasmine, “Do you need something dear…” she asked.

“Um… could you proof read this for me?” Jasmine asked still not taking her eyes off Jane as she handed the pad to Glitch.

“Of course, I will do it once I finish up with Jane… also… get to bed… you might not have school tomorrow but you promised to help me with your brother.” Glitch told her.

“Yes, aunt Glitch.” Jasmine said.

“Ah… omni-tool…” Glitch held out her hand and Jasmine took off her omni-tool and placed it in her hand. “You can tell your friends in the morning you met Shepard.” She then shooed Jasmine from the room.

“You child minding?” Jane asked.

Glitch shook her head, “Their parents died in an accident four years ago, I am and always have been listed as next of kin for generations so they came to live with me.” She explained. “Not the first time this happened, it’s the third. They have cousins and other aunts and uncles and other grandparents but the rule in this family is that I am always listed as the guardian if something happens to the parents.”

Jane nodded with a smile. “Damn, you became a responsible parent before I did.”

Glitch groaned, a comical sound coming from a Geth but Glitch seemed much more emotive then she remembered. “Don’t get me started with nappies… Debra had a good laugh about that.”

Jane laughed and was happy that Glitch was laughing with her. “Alright Glitch I’ll let you go make sure Jasmine is sleeping.”

“And I will let you get back to your bondmate.” Glitch told her.

“Call you later…”

“Yes… later…” Glitch agreed as they both hung up.

Jane smiled as she leant back in her chair, happy that Glitch was doing well. Jane stood from her seat and went to join Liara, who was sprawled over her side of the bed and fast asleep. She chuckled as she stripped down and joined her bondmate.

****

Jane panted gently as she finished running laps of the ship, her breath quickly returned to normal indicating just how fit she was. Others quickly joined her.

“I… hate… you…” Samantha complained between breaths when she finally joined them.

Jeff shook his head, “You chose to match them, you could have stopped after the first lap, you didn’t need to do all five.”

Thea nodded in agreement, she and Karin, Gabby and Kenneth had all stopped after their second lap and Jeff had only done a brisk walk once around Defiance.

“How is your asthma?” Karin asked as she scanned Samantha.

Samantha took a deep breath, even her breathing was mostly back to normal. “I don’t think I have it any more.”

“No, you still have it but your bots are managing your condition for you.” Karin told her.

Legionnaire had even joined them for their run although he didn’t need it, he had been prepared to carry Samantha the rest of the way if she fainted.

“All right people let’s get some grub and then Jason will hold a Krav Maga session, if you want to learn it,” Jane told the group.

“New skills,” Nhiami remarked pleased. She had decided that she wanted to go with Jane so before she applied, she first swore the Third Oath, Jane had been surprised when Nhiami did this and even asked why. Her response, because as much as she loved being a Justicar, she had been a Spectre and she knew there were shades of grey in the galaxy and she wanted to be able to see those shades again as she travelled with Jane.

Jane nodded.

“It’s the same stuff you had Thea learn right?” Aria asked and Jane nodded.

“Food,” Grunt said hopefully and they all started to move. The rest of the first wave was woken shortly after they got their bearings and we already starting to get to work.

“I was wanting to check out After Life.” Aria remarked, when she wasn’t on mission she was going to be in charge of the largest and only night club on Defiance, although there were also a few bars.

“After Life won’t be opened until after the second wave of wakers,” Jane reminded her.

“Don’t forget, my father is going to be your bar manager,” Liara reminded her and Aria groaned as the others chuckled.

After a ten-minute walk they made it back to the military mess which was currently the only communal eating area, until the second wave that was then the other areas would be open.

There was some bustle as people were getting their breakfasts before moving off to their jobs or training. They got their food and sat at communal tables to eat.

Just as they were finishing Thea’s harried assistant joined them with a box and her breakfast, the box she handed to Jane. Jane opened it and smiled, “Garrus,” she tossed a set of tags to him which he caught, “Grunt,” she called next and another set of tags was tossed, his set was much bigger than the others. One by one she tossed tags to the ones who didn’t have them, including Legionnaire.

Aria sighed as she looked at the tags Jane had tossed her, she then pulled them on, she had agreed to be respectable; so that Thea could have the life she deserved and even Thea had a set of tags. Jane smiled as she stood and went to return her tray and carry on her day.

“What are we doing this afternoon?” Ashley asked as she briskly walked to catch up with Jane.

“We are checking out the Normandy SRV-5.” Jane told her and there were whoops from behind her. Everyone was looking forward to that.

*

Jane leant on the railing which looked out over a dark ship dock, “fan fair Legionnaire?”

“Shepard Commander… please… let me do it right.” He complained.

Jane sighed, “You know… Glitch called me Jane.” She told him.

“I cannot speak for Glitch Shepard Commander.” He told her stubbornly.

“Hurry up!” Jeff complained from a little way off, everyone was gathered on the same railing, waiting.

With a few touches of his omni-tool he turned on the lights, illuminating the Normandy SRV-5 for them to see. Jane scanned over the familiar lines but she frowned, it was bigger again and she couldn’t really see it fitting into the frigate category. “It’s a Cruisier now right?”

“Yes and no,” Legionnaire replied. “it has more armour and armament.”

“More to calibrate,” Garrus said pleased.

“But it is still fast and has stealth capabilities.” Legionnaire finished.

“What type of armaments?” Jane asked.

“Three main Thanix cannons, two rapid fire Thanix guns, plus a miniature crucible in the nose.” Legionnaire answered.

“Rapid fire guns?” Jane asked wondering where they were, she could guess where the cannons were but not rapid-fire guns.

“Yes, cannons are for large ships at a distance, the smaller rapid-fire guns are for closer ships and can even be maned. They sit in the middle one on top and one under the belly, they are retracted at the moment.” He explained.

“You managed to make the Crucible small?” Jane asked and he nodded.

“Like Sparatus said, we didn’t need big enough to take out all the reapers in the galaxy, just the reapers before us. Charge, point and shoot, the Normandy is shielded from the wave… just in case.”

“Tantalus drive?” Gabby asked.

“No… well… it is a mix of the Odyssey drive and the Tantalus drive.” Legionnaire told her as he typed on his tool and gave her the specs for the engine. “Ra’yven designed it. It took us a while to get it right though.”

“Pretty… and big… hey why is it so big?” Gabby asked.

“To power the ship and the guns at the same time without compromising power elsewhere.” Legionnaire told her.

Gabby nodded, “Can’t wait to have a look.”

“Let’s go,” Jane told them.

“Skipper… who is going to be XO?” Ashley asked before she glanced back to Miranda, both had held the position, Miranda during the Collectors mission and her during the later phase of the Reaper War.

Jane gave Ashley a blank look, “idiot…” she told Ashley. “You are my XO; Miranda is my Quarter Master…”

Miranda chuckled, “I do like lists.”

“Wait you already talked about this right?” Ashley asked and both Jane and Miranda nodded.

“Yeah, I wanted to have it nutted out before we left.” Jane said as they came upon Crew Normandy who were eager to go aboard and familiarise themselves.

“Attention on deck!” was called by a Turian and the crew came to attention.

Jane pulled Trix into a loose head lock, “Gunnery Chief, did you forget I prefer informal?”

“No Commander, but… this is the new Normandy, a little fan fair is to be expected for its debut.” Trix answered as Jane dragged her along, Jane finally released her as she came to the ramp and noticed the door was locked.

“You’re right…” she said and Legionnaire was waiting for her to give him the nod to open the ship. “Traynor, break us in!” she ordered, Team Normandy started to laugh.

“But…” Legionnaire started to say just as Samantha walked forward and held up her ‘spare’ tooth brush which she always had on her now, she pressed the on button twice making two buzzing noises.

“Easy…” Samantha said as she started to move forward.

“But… I…” Legionnaire started to explain as he glanced between Jane and Samantha. He quickly decided to hit the unlock button just as Samantha got to the door she was scanned and it slid open.

“It has a bio-lock?” Samantha asked.

“Yes,” Legionnaire answered.

“Not good enough… an evil clone could get in…” Samantha replied slightly teasing him.

Legionnaire’s flaps moved and his lens contracted a little in a clearly grumpy way, how dare she question his technical expertise. “No… no clone of anyone on Defiance could get in. The bio-scanners are the best.”

“Traynor… stop teasing him.” Edi told her. Legionnaire realised that he was being teased and he relaxed and now that he thought about it, Jane had also been teased a little by Samantha in reference to her evil clone.

Samantha put away her toothbrush and smiled at Legionnaire. “Sorry, Edi gave me the specs yesterday, the bio-scanners can identify the unique codes given to everyone on Defiance.”

“The micro-dots.” Jane said, it was something they had come up with, the perfect counter measure to infiltration and keeping people out of areas. The dots themselves had a unique code that would only react to a specific series of scan waves, in conjunction with the bio-scan of the person it would make it very hard to forge.

“You, did great…” Samantha told Legionnaire, “I still have to figure out if I can break in though…principal…”

Jane grinned at Legionnaire, “It was interesting watching you get so visibly angry, when did you become so emotive.” She asked as she placed a hand on his arm.

“Glitch told us that we needed to learn emotions, then learn to express them, that we would be able to bond better. She told that to all Geth, we’ve done our best…” he told her.

“And it will get easier now that we are back with you.” Jane told him and he nodded.

Samantha stepped away from the door to let Jane go first and even gestured for her to do so. Jane took a deep breath and walked in.

Jane took a deep breath as she walked to the CIC followed by the other, “New ship smell.”

Legionnaire joined her, “We tried to keep the design the same, just… much more up to date and more streamline. Also, there is an extra crew deck where individual quarters for crew with partners are.”

“Thank you, I wasn’t looking forward to having to lock a broom closet to have my way with my wife.” Jack called and Miranda shook her head.

Legionnaire flared his flaps and tilted them, a frown, “there are no broom closets on board the Normandy.” He told her in a way that indicated he was pulling her leg.

Gabby and Kenneth glanced to each other, “Last one to the engine room is a rotten…” they started to say but Tali was already in the lift that was closing and waving at them. “Hey!”

“LEATHER SEATS!” Jeff yelled from the cockpit.

Legionnaire leant down, “Edi made sure his seat was leather.”

Jane chuckled.

“To your right are the labs, to your left is the Executive Officers offices and in between is the war and vid com room.” Legionnaire explained and followed as Jane, Liara, Ra’yven, Miranda and Ashley followed. They went to the labs first, “the lab area is broken into two areas, bio and tech.” he explained as they passed the glass which protected the labs and the ship from the labs if something went wrong. They followed the hallway around pass the somewhat smaller war and vid com room and then to the offices which had all been clearly marked offices, XO, Quarter Master and Dr T’Soni.

“I get my own office?” Liara asked as she stepped forward the door opened and a moment later a drone came to life.

“Greetings Dr,” Glyph greeted.

“Glyph!” Liara said pleased as she stepped in to see a two of three walls covered with monitors.

Everyone checked out their offices but for the most part they were normal offices.

“Your office is attached to your quarters although they are also separate to them now.” Legionnaire explained before she could complain.

Jane went and checked out the cockpit, Joker was getting comfortable in his leather seat, Edi was in the co-pilots seat and another was sitting in the second co-pilots seat, two others were also looking over shoulders. She left them to it and went to check out the mess, she was followed by the others.

“XO bedroom is still to your left and med-bay to your right.” Legionnaire added as they walked around and came to the much bigger mess and kitchen… kitchens. “There is a Dextro kitchen and a everything else kitchen.” He gestured through the kitchen to the door, “Main guns.” They didn’t bother to linger and just went to the med-bay.

Karin was inside and chatting to another Doctor, two doors were at the other end. “remind me to introduce you to Miranda, she’s an excellent field medic…” Karin said to the Asari with dark blue skin and contrasting white freckles and red clan tattoos, Karin had handpicked to be another doctor on board.

“Hi I’m Miranda,” Miranda went and introduced herself. “I helped Karin keep her and David alive.” She added as she gestured to Jane.

“Liara also has a pretty good idea on first aid for most races but lots of experience with humans.” Karin said as she gestured to Liara.

“I’m Aalita,” she introduced, “I feel like I know you all, I’ve read all of your files. Commander I know people on the crew have their own therapists on Defiance but if you are in a pinch, I am also available, I will let everyone know in a ship wide memo if that is okay with you?” She asked, everyone on the crew and team were veterans, there were bound to be times when they needed to talk and couldn’t get in touch with their own councillors.

Jane nodded, “That’s fine.”

“Do you like your quarters?” Legionnaire asked.

Karin nodded and gestured to the place where Edi’s AI core had once sat. “Perfect and at least people will know where to find us at all times.”

“Where is Edi’s core?” Jane asked.

“On Defiance, she has a Quantum node here so that she can connect and still be what she was.” He explained.

“Right, Edi has asked to have a Quantum node installed… is it possible?” Jane asked.

“Very, we went over the Pathfinder information Liara had, they had Quantum communicators installed in their implants to connect them to their SAM. We’ve played with it and think with we can implant it.” He explained.

“I will need the specs for that,” Karin told him. “Edi’s body is very… unique, if we make a mistake, we can do serious harm to her. Might get Ra’yven to go over it as well.”

Legionnaire nodded and sent her everything he had on it including the Pathfinder information.

“Leave you to it,” Jane told the pair as they went back to the lift.

“Port and Starboard observation rooms, one has a bar and library, the other is a games room.” Legionnaire explained.

“Media room?” Jane stated as she walked to the room which had been a crew quarters and walked in to see a vid theatre that could seat thirty people comfortably.

“We wanted this deck to be more centred around recreation.” Legionnaire answered as they continued through, there were quarters near engineering for Gabby and Kenneth and Tali and Garrus, the room which had once been the port cargo bay had been turned into a gym and the starboard cargo bay had been returned to its original purpose.

The armoury was placed in the hanger bay, as was medic station, three Kodiaks sat ready to drop them on worlds if needed.

“Thank the goddess,” Liara breathed when she realised, they didn’t have any vehicles.

“Huh?” Jane asked but Liara, Ashley and Miranda gave her blank looks. “No mako?” Jane asked Legionnaire.

“No… once we make contact we will see if their vehicles are any good and then we will build, until then shuttle is your only way.” Legionnaire replied.

The three other women gave each other slightly alarmed looks, Jane would insist on driving, they hoped Legionnaire took a long time to design and build it.

Finally, Jane and Liara went up to their quarters, no one went with them. They walked pass a room marked Captain’s office and the door next to it was Captain’s quarters. Jane ignored the office and moved to their room a short hallway greeted them that then opened onto a private study where Jane’s impressive model ship collection sat although room had been made for more ships. The door to her right she knew was their bathroom and a large aquarium covered almost the entire left wall, already filled with brightly coloured fish and thankfully maintained by a special VI and an impressive hamster run had been set up along parts of the right, Boo the third was already in its cage and eating pallets, again maintained by a VI.

Liara picked up a battered N7 helmet which had been on the desk and moved it to a set of shelves in their small lounge room and put it next to a Prothean sphere and the still living husk head which screamed at her making her jump.

“Goddess I hate that thing.” She complained as she used a biotic lift to move it back to the desk in the study and made sure its eyes were pointed away from any of the living areas.

“It only reacts when you get too close.” Jane told her as she wrapped her arms around Liara and held her.

“Why is it even here?” Liara asked.

“Rules, it stays on the Normandy in my custody, you know they even recreated it right,” Jane told her, the SRV-2 had been turned into a museum piece, all of her things were recreated. “As much as this feels familiar,” she nodded to the room, she pressed her face to Liara’s neck, “this is home.”


	13. Chapter 13 ~ Waiting and Set Backs.

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Hi everyone,

This chapter is rather short but it is important for what is to come and the next chapter should be longer. Okay, now that’s done I have to add that this chapter contains PTSD themes, I do not claim to be an expert in PTSD and I know that there are multiple ways that PTSD manifests in those who suffer from it. I hope I haven’t made too many mistakes in explaining the aspects I have taken and incorporated into this story. For those of you reading who suffer from PTSD if you want me to make corrections let me know and I hope you are getting the support you need.

Thanks.

Chapter 13 ~ Waiting and Set backs

A week later Jane jerked awake, rolled off her bed and scrambled away from it. Panic gripped her as she tried to figure out where she was. Her stomach heaved and she quickly crawled to the visible toilet, not trusting her legs as it felt like they wanted to shake and collapse under her.

Liara jerked awake and almost flew to join Jane as Jane emptied her stomach into the toilet. Liara grabbed a wash cloth, dampened it and then draped it over the back of Jane’s neck, she then started to rub Jane’s back as she settled next to her bondmate as she continued to dry reach.

Liara rubbed her face as she felt the adrenaline fade. “That seemed like a bad one,” she told Jane, in fact it was starting to concern her as Jane’s nightmares were returning, slowly at first getting more frequent and more disturbing. Jane hadn’t slept through the entire night since that first night and her nightmares were also affecting Liara.

Jane spat into the bowl and winced when she finally noticed that she had wrenched her left knee, sometime in the mad scramble to get away and to the toilet. “Yeah.” She shifted until she was sitting.

“When do you see Yasma?” Liara asked referring to their therapist.

Jane was at work on her omni-tool and frowned at the screen as Liara reached up and flushed the toilet. She typed for a moment sending an urgent message to Yasma to ask for an emergency session tomorrow sometime when she realised her actual scheduled appointment wasn’t until next week. “Next week but I just asked for an emergency session.” There was a ding as the reply came, Yasma would see her tomorrow at 10 unless she was needed right now.

Jane stared at the screen for a moment and sent the reply that tomorrow would be fine. Liara pushed herself up and then helped Jane up, Jane hissed as she put weight on her left leg. Liara quickly pushed the lid down and helped Jane sit on the toilet. “You brush I’ll get ice.”

Liara left the room letting Jane have a few moments to wash the yuck from her mouth and calm down further. While Jane was thoroughly using her mouthwash, Liara returned and carefully strapped the ice pack to Jane’s knee. After spitting out the mouthwash Jane sighed in relief.

“Want to talk about it?” Liara asked.

“It was the child dream, the one that used to disturb me during the war.” Jane explained and Liara’s frown deepened.

“You haven’t had that dream since the war…” she remarked and Jane nodded.

“Yeah… but it was different… I don’t know,” Jane told her and Liara understood that Jane didn’t want to talk just yet.

Liara nodded, “tranquiliser?”

Jane nodded, “I won’t get any sleep unless I do.”

Liara went to the cupboard and pulled out two hypo sprays, Jane had spoken to Karin about her nightmares and she had given Jane two medications to use if she absolutely needed, this was the first time. The first vial held anti-anxiety medicine and the second would knock her out. Karin had informed them of the use and had set the dosing, it was light and only meant to help her get back to sleep and not keep her there. Usually Karin would have given tablets but Jane had issues with taking tablets.

Liara gave her the anxiety meds first to help calm her down and keep her calm for a couple of hours. She then gave her the tranquiliser and quickly put both away, using a biotic lift she got Jane back into bed, and Jane was back asleep before Liara even got her there.

****

“Fuck Jane you look like crap,” Jack said honestly as they finished stretching for their Krav Maga lesson. Everyone had eventually decided to take the lessons to help fill time.

“Feel like crap,” Jane replied, seeing no real need to hide it.

“You fixing that?” Aria asked as she bounced to loosen muscles.

Jane nodded, “got an appointment.” She told her and Aria and Jack both nodded in understanding. Everyone on Defiance was either a war veteran or a victim of the war. Over two thousand therapists had come with them to help them deal with what happened. Of those, fifteen were dedicated to helping those on the Normandy with their mental health. It had been agreed upon that if someone said got an appointment no one would go further, no one would tease.

As they focused on the task, time passed quickly, Jane’s omni-tool beeped her reminder. She turned to Jason, “sorry I’ve got an appointment.”

He waved her off not questioning her, Jane went and quickly showered and changed before making her way to the recreation sector. She then moved on to a set of offices that over looked a small mini forest, getting to the door she announced herself. A few moments later and the door slid open.

“Greetings Commander,” a friendly voice remarked from deeper in the room.

“Yasma…” Jane greeted as she walked and looked around.

Yasma had been working with Jane for years, in fact she was the therapist Thea had introduced to her, an Asari in the later years of her Matron stage. Watching Jane glance around had her alarmed, it wasn’t lazy or curious, it was sharp. “Sit where ever you want.” She offered, there were a lot of different types of chairs and siting configurations in the room, sometimes where someone chose to sit was telling.

Jane glanced around and chose to sit on the floor with her back against the wall, giving herself a clear view of the door and the garden, both exits. Yasma moved a chair to sit before Jane but no blocking her view, she also grabbed a few cushions and tossed them to Jane to make her seat a little more comfortable.

Yasma sat and just waited for Jane to start, she had learnt that Jane would start to talk once she was ready and if she tried to rush it Jane would dig in a refuse to talk about the real problem. She could prompt a little but not much, Jane’s actions since walking into the room were alarming to her, all their previous work had been undone.

Yasma just waited as she made herself comfortable, they had time, she didn’t have any appointments until the afternoon and it was important that they work on whatever had set Jane back to her early post war state. As she waited, she quickly found a spot and sent a request to Liara to have an appointment today, since Jane was like this it must also be affecting her bondmate. The response was quick as it had been discouraged to avoid or decline appointments with therapists, Liara would see her today.

After five minutes of silence Yasma decided to give a nudge. “Nightmare?” she asked and watched as Jane flinched, it wasn’t much of a stretch to assume Jane had a vivid nightmare, the request came through just after midnight.

Jane sighed, “Yeah… I haven’t slept the whole night since the first night. They’ve gotten more and more vivid, last night…” she shook her head as she hooked her arms around her legs, hugging them tighter to her body.

“Same nightmare or different or flash backs?” Yasma asked.

“I only remember last nights’ nightmare,” Jane explained. “It was the child dream.” She explained.

Yasma frowned, Jane named her reoccurring nightmares, Harbinger, Invasion, Rho, Citadel, Seran, Akuze, London, Adjuncts, Spaced and Collectors, they had spoken about them all multiple times but she didn’t recall Jane ever talking about a Child dream.

“Child dream… not a nightmare?” she asked.

“It never actually happened…” Jane explained.

Yasma considered her, all of Jane’s nightmares that they had spoken about were true events or based on them, the one nightmare Jane had never spoken about wasn’t. “We’ve never spoken about it,” she explained and watched as Jane gave her a thoughtful look.

“I guess… because… I only had it during the war.” Jane told her, “I haven’t had it since… the battle of London.”

Yasma nodded, starting to begin to see what might be behind Jane’s set back. “Okay, why don’t you tell me about this dream.”

Jane considered Yasma for a moment, “to do that… I need to tell you about the invasion…”

Yasma didn’t question why Jane wanted to start there, she must have considered how she would explain her dream, that there was a reason for it. She nodded indicating that she was ready to listen.

“I remember being in my detention room when I first saw the kid, playing with a model ship, young, under 10 human in years.” Jane explained.

“The kid?” Yasma asked, wondering about Jane’s use of language.

Jane nodded, “Just a kid,” she explained as she then went on to explain how James had come and said that she was being summoned and all of what happened the next, some of it Yasma had already heard before but because Jane thought it was important to go over, to give context, she didn’t remind her that they had spoken of this before.

“We had just fought off husks and were trying to figure out a way through the mess, to get to the Normandy. I heard a noise as David was trying to figure out a way forward. I went to the vent the noise came from and looked in, there was the kid, in the vent. I tried to coax them out but they backed away and said… you can’t help me… David then called me and I glanced away just for a moment… the kid was gone.”

Yasma shifted in her seat as Jane then went on to explain how she met her first Cannibals, how they got to the Normandy and finally how she had been reinstated and effectively ordered to kill the Reapers. “As we were flying away, I watched shuttles land, to evac civilians, the kid was there, no one helped them, but they got onto the shuttle and just after it took off… a Destroyer destroyed them.”

Jane took a deep breath before she brushed over her Mars mission which happened directly after the invasion and feeling so helpless as Ashley was badly hurt. “I was told to go rest, to get some sleep, that was the first night I had the dream.” She told Yasma, she explained the dark shadowy forest and the kid, bright white and running away from her, how after every time she had the dream, more shadows of the people who had died joined the forest, the whispers of their voices and the kid, how she just kept chasing that damn kid and how every time she got to them they would catch on fire and burn up before her.

Jane paused and dashed the tears from her eyes.

“So, what was different last night?” Yasma asked, Jane was distressed, she hid it well but Yasma was trained to see these things.

“I got to the kid, this time they didn’t burn up immediately, ‘why couldn’t you save me…’ they asked, ‘why didn’t you help me…’ they demanded, I couldn’t answer. Then their mouth opened, wider than possible for a human, a Banshee’s scream came from their mouth and then tubes, shot out of their mouth at me… _I told you… you can’t help me…_ they told me just before the tubes reached me. Then… I was scrambling out of bed, panic gripped me and I threw up.” Jane finished.

Yasma didn’t say anything as Jane buried her head into her knees, just thinking and considering what Jane had told her.

“Jane… why do you always refer to the child as the kid, you never mention a name or a sex.” Yasma knew Jane would have searched for a name for the child, if only to honour them.

Jane typed for a moment and sent the picture Jack had drawn from her description; it was very accurate. “I looked, had Edi do an extranet wide search for images related to that picture, no hits anywhere on earth… I don’t even know if the kid was real, or if they were a hallucination placed there by the Reapers…”

“Jane… it was deemed that you cannot be indoctrinated, you had what five or six Matriarchs comb through your mind.”

“Three, only three, well… technically four and… my mind wasn’t always immune, Rho could have done it while I was out cold. I only became immune during the battle of London.” Jane reminded her.

Yasma had no argument for that, Jane could be right, she doubted it though, the Matriarchs would have found it if she had lingering indoctrination, although Jane’s obvious disgust and anger at them immediately ruled out the forms of indoctrination they were aware of. But… Jane wasn’t normal… what they wanted from her wasn’t what they wanted from the rest of the human race. “I can’t argue that, however, it has been years, if they put that kid there to erode your mental health, to help them indoctrinate you, why did it go away when they did and why has it just come back now?” she said trying to get Jane to look at things differently.

Jane considered what Yasma said for a moment, she was right, the dreams had gone away when the Reapers did. “But we are heading right back to the final six.”

“Jane… they can’t touch you anymore, your mind is a fortress.” Yasma told her firmly, “I think something else is triggering your nightmares. It could even be because it is still something you have to work through. Whispers and shadows of the people you couldn’t save, chasing after a kid you couldn’t save. See where I am going with this.”

Jane thought for long moments, “I guess.”

Yasma watched her for a moment, “Do you remember the answer you gave me when I asked you what you wanted to get out of your Therapy?”

Jane didn’t have to think, “To find my new normal.” Jane answered and she even remembered Yasma’s shocked look with her answer.

Yasma nodded, that was the answer Jane gave her, she didn’t want to get back to the way she was before everything happened, or to forget, she just wanted to find her new normal which meant learning to live with all her ghosts. “In order to find your new normal, we have to dive deep into everything and yes we’ll have set backs. But I did promise to help you find your new normal and it is just as important now as is was when I first promised you. You have a very long life ahead of you, your mental health is paramount.”

Jane nodded, if she didn’t learn to live with her PTSD or at least learn to manage it, she would become a very dangerous shell.

Yasma turned to her omni-tool and typed, “I see you’ve already spoken to Karin about nightmares.” She remarked, Jane’s medical file was linked, so that both her physical health and mental health could be tracked.

Jane nodded, “Last night was the first time I used them though.”

Yasma nodded, “and I don’t want you using them unless you have to, although I do want you to go back onto the medication I had you on before.”

Jane groaned, she hated taking tablets.

Yasma grinned, “I will also make another appointment to see you in a few days.” She added as she made the appointment, ideally, she would want to see Jane daily to try to unpack this new nightmare, at least until she started to sleep normally again, but she had other patients to help.

“I just want to sleep the whole night, I keep waking Liara, that’s not fair.” Jane told her as she stretched out her legs.

“Your bondmate loves you,” Yasma told her, “a few sleepless nights she can live with. Now… I noticed a few things that we can begin to work on immediately.” She told Jane.

Jane frowned.

“Look where you are Jane, on the floor, back to the wall, clear view of all exists.” Yasma explained.

Jane closed her eyes, she hadn’t even realised it, “I…”

“Hypervigilance, you glanced around my office, looking for points of entry and exit.” Yasma added. “That’s why I want you back on your tablets, at least until we get to the root cause and maybe for some after that.”

Jane rested her head against the wall at her back.

“You don’t have to be vigilant here, this place… is safe, there are no enemies for you to be looking out for.” She smiled at Jane, “yeah… I know easier said than done.” Her tool buzzed and she frowned as she glanced down. “Huh… where did the time go?” she questioned, her next appointment was soon, Jane’s story had probably chewed the time.

Jane checked her tool, just as surprised by how much time had passed, she went to get up and found that her body was stiff but it got there.

Yasma stood as well, “Don’t forget your writing exercises, I’ll get Karin to give you your meds.”

Jane nodded, Yasma had figured that Jane might be more comfortable expressing herself in written form. She was right, it became easier for Jane to talk to her after she started writing.

“Thanks,” Jane told her, it might not have fixed anything but talking had helped, a little at least. She walked out the door and instantly saw Jack leant against the wall, big art folder in her hands.

“Shit… you went hours ago,” Jack remarked as she pushed herself off the wall. The process knocked the folder in her hands and it slipped from her grip, paper was scattered all over the floor.

Jane and Yasma helped her scoop them back up, it was hard not to look at them but Jane did her best until she came to an image that was vivid, Miranda in a Collector’s tube, beginning to dissolve, her eyes clearly begging for help. Jane handed it her and left, she had had that vision before, only with Liara in the tube so she understood.

****

Jane walked into Yasma’s office two days later, she was tired, the nightmare just kept waking her and the drugs, she never felt like she was sleeping when she used them. “Hey,” she said as she flopped onto the nearest couch.

“Hello,” Yasma told her.

Jane glanced to the Matron and frowned, her tone was keyed up and apologetic at the same time, with a groan she forced herself up to look at her.

“Wow you look exhausted.” Yasma remarked and Jane nodded.

“Yeah, the drugs… it never feels like real sleep.” She explained and Yasma nodded as she went and got them both coffees.

“So… I may have missed the obvious,” Yasma told her after she gave Jane the drink.

“What did you miss?” Jane asked a little perplexed.

“You know I am a war veteran too,” Yasma asked and Jane nodded before she sipped at her drink, it was one of the reasons she had gone with Thea’s suggestion, she didn’t want to talk with someone who didn’t _know_ what it was like to go to war, to fight. “Last night I had a vivid flash back nightmare, haven’t had one of those for centuries.” She continued. “Once I had calmed down and was trying to get back to sleep, I realised I felt uncomfortable, on edge, my bond mate turned around and told me to quiet my mind that sleep would come and then I realised why I was uncomfortable. It was too quiet in my quarters.”

Jane frowned not understanding.

“Jane, when was the last time you slept in a room with no background noise? The hum of an engine, the sound of voices.”

“The bubbling of an aquarium and squeak of a hamster wheel,” Jane added as she was beginning to understand what Yasma was going on about.

“You are preparing for a war… well… more like a fight,” she corrected, “your body is listening for the sounds of danger, alarms, the wrong kind of engine sound. Listening for the wrong, so that you can spring into action and your mind… is creating the danger for you because you can’t hear any of the sounds you know, mean that you are safe.”

“Okay how do I fix that,” Jane asked her, she was at the point where she was desperate to try anything, she just wanted a full night’ sleep.

“White noise, you and Liara need to pick something, a sound track that you both instantly find relaxing and calming and play it, softly, on continuous loop, just loud enough to hear but not too loud as to drown out the sound of your omni-tool.” Yasma explained, she had seen recognition in Jane’s eyes, she had a sound track that both would find relaxing.

“And then the nightmare goes away?” Jane asked.

Yasma shrugged, “We’ll see, it can’t hurt to try.”

Jane nodded, that was the truth, she had nothing to lose, only to gain. Now that she had a plan of action, she felt a little more in control. “Shit… I think it is also because I don’t really have a plan.”

Yasma nodded unsurprised. “You are a person of action; at the moment you have a goal but you don’t have a plan.” She paused for a moment, “you like vids, right?”

Jane nodded, “Then why don’t you consider from now until we get to Heleus your epic training montage,” Yasma told her with a grin which caused Jane to smile. “While you are doing that, make some plans, anticipate some problems…”

“Biggest one… convincing a group who didn’t live the Reaper war that it existed, that Reapers exist.” Jane told her.

“You did it once…” Yasma told her and only just managed not to flinch when Jane threw her a dirty look.

“No, I didn’t… few listened, most didn’t… then it was too late.” Jane told her firmly, angrily even because she would always have that thought in her mind, what if they had listened. What if they had taken her original warning seriously; had taken only _just_ managing to beat Sovereign seriously. Could those years before the war, spent preparing, instead of ignoring the danger, could it have made a difference, Jane would always have those thoughts in her head.

“Okay… make them believe, show them.” Yasma told her.

Jane considered her, “I just have to convince someone to listen. They can’t doubt me with all our proof.”

Yasma nodded, it would be a very dense person to ignore all of their footage, but they did exist. She considered Jane for a moment, “mind if I give you advice?” she asked.

Jane didn’t hesitate she nodded, she trusted Yasma with all of her deepest darkest thoughts, of course she would listen.

“Image you are someone else, and that the person before you, who you only know through reputation, tells you that huge sentient machines were sent to kill you.” Yasma said trying get Jane to look at things from a different angle.

“Shit I wouldn’t believe them.” Jane told Yasma who nodded.

“Hard huh, you need to think of a way to get people invested into listening.”

Jane nodded, “something to work on during my training montage.”

Yasma chuckled then went serious, “how have your nightmares been? Anything different?”

Jane shook her head, “No, not really, I’ve been trying to change the dream, almost got my hands on it before it morphed into a stretched long husk.”

Yasma frowned, she was sure that the kid was someone she had seen before because the mind couldn’t create faces, faces in dreams were always people the dreamer had seen before, knew before. She was also sure that Jane was partially right, that the Reapers had drudged something up from her memories and had used it to wear down her mind, to make it easier to break her and their resistance. “Have you tried not chasing the kid?” she asked, until she could prove that Jane had known the kid, she couldn’t broach this just yet.

Jane shook her head.

“Although I am hoping you won’t have the dream, if you do, try not to chase the kid.” Yasma told her as her omni-tool buzzed. “And time, so, remember, relaxing music, continuous loop.”

Jane stood and nodded, she was actually glad that dinner was over and she was going home to sleep and that this wasn’t a full session just a check-up. She walked out, Liara was seated and waiting because her appointment was directly after Jane’s.

Jane leant in and gave Liara a kiss, “see you when you get home.” She told her before she walked off.

*

Liara walked into their quarters, her appointment had run over a little, but that was mainly because Yasma had shared her theory behind Jane’s kid nightmare. Normally a therapist wouldn’t share details with another client however, Jane and Liara had both allowed her to talk to the other partner more so when she explained that she would eventually see them together. Once Yasma was done explaining her theory, Liara put her in touch with the Shadow Broker, if anyone could find the kid, it would be them. Their home was quiet, the lights were off, she hoped that Yasma’s suggestion would help Jane sleep the night, she really needed it.

Making her way to their room, her ears picked up the gentle tones of their song, it was faint but at the same time it filled the silent room. Jane was sprawled on their bed in a black tank top and panties, a sheet was bunched up around her hips. Regardless Jane looked completely relaxed as she slept, something she hadn’t seen since the nightmares began.

Quietly she had a shower and pulled on a nightgown before she went to join Jane on their bed, being careful not to jostle her awake as she slid closer to her bondmate. Just as she started to settle down Jane moved, her arms reached out and the moment she made contact with Liara’s body she pulled her close and curled her body possessively around her.

Liara kissed her arm as the gentle notes of the piano lulled her to sleep.

*

Liara felt lips against her neck, slowly she woke and stretched as she groaned and yawned. “Did you have a nightmare?” she asked even as she tried to focus on the time her omni-tool displayed.

“Nope… it’s a little before our alarms are set to go off.” Jane answered pleased with herself, she had slept the night and finally felt refreshed.

Liara smiled as Jane linked their fingers together, “So… Yasma was right, it was too quiet in here.”

“Yeah… still want to know why my mind decided the kid dream was what it wanted to focus on.” Jane told her before she started to get up as her bladder was making demands.

“Yasma will help you figure it out,” Liara told her as she followed Jane into the bathroom, Jane used the toilet as Liara wet a cloth and wiped her face to help wake up. When Jane was done, they swapped places, Jane washed her hands before she washed her face. Neither bothered to shower not seeing the point, they were going to pre-breakfast training, then more training and then after lunch… gun training.

“You know… Yasma was right… this is just one long training montage.” Jane explained and Liara laughed as she nudged Jane over to wash her hands. Both brushed their teeth before they moved to start getting dressed, Jane didn’t go to get dressed immediately, she went to a pull up bar and started to do some sets.

Liara couldn’t help but stare, Jane’s top had ridden up while she worked, showing off the proof of her hard work, nicely defined abs, tattoos and faded scars. She had asked Karin why the bots didn’t fix the scars, Karin’s response was simple, the scars weren’t doing harm as long as it was wasn’t harmful to the body the bots would leave it alone. Jane noticed her bondmate staring so she stopped her set and returned her feet to the ground, she slid her right hand up under her top to scratch just under left breast, giving her love more eye candy.

“Like what you see?” Jane asked as she slowly walked over and removed her hand but didn’t bother to pull her top down

Liara swallowed and nodded as Jane came to stop before her, her hands instantly went to touch the tempting flesh. Jane leant in for a kiss and Liara offered them, they kissed slowly, just enjoying being together. Their alarms went off and both groaned as they broke their kiss.

“We can be late,” Jane told her.

“We’ll get teased,” Liara reminded her as she reluctantly removed her hands.

“And we have tonight.” Jane reminded her, they hadn’t made love since the nightmares started and that was mainly because Jane was simply too tired.

Liara nodded, “Yes, we have tonight.” They pulled apart and started to get dressed, “Oh… Yasma has decided it is time we finally had a joint appointment.”

Jane nodded as she stripped out of her sleepwear, she knew it was coming as Yasma had spoken about it, since they were married, spent so much time together she wanted to show them ways of helping each other. “That means melding right?” she asked as she pulled on a pair of boy short panties and then a pair of black cotton mid-thigh shorts that sat a little low on her hips showing just the edge of her underwear, she tied the string to hold it in place. She then grabbed a sports bra and slid it on before pulling on a black tank top that stopped just above her navel, exposing the scar on her left side, the tattoo that highlighted it and a tantalising strip of skin.

Liara nodded as she sat to pull on a pair of shoes.

“We’ll have to let Samara know,” Jane stated as she grabbed socks and then went looking for her shoes, Liara nodded, at least for the first few times as Yasma had never melded with Jane before, she needed to be protected in the meld until Jane got used to her and she could protect herself.

Janara was part of the reason they did this; Jane had passed the psyche tests which proved she hadn’t been indoctrinated shortly after the war. However, some had wanted to try to figure it out, to delve into her mind. But the very powerful Matriarchs who had been allowed to completely search her mind, to try to figure out first what indoctrination was and how she managed to throw it off entirely, had all gone in protected by Samara. At first they had said they didn’t need the help, only to not even be able to get into her mind and Jane hadn’t been able to relax enough to let anyone other than Janara in but even then Janara couldn’t go too deep as when she tried she found herself flung painfully out. With Samara’s help they had been able to do what they had wanted to, but only with Samara’s help. Jane hoped that the relationship she had built with Yasma would mean she wouldn’t need Samara to sit in on every session.

“When is the appointment?” Jane asked as she reached under their bed to retrieve the shoe, she had flung off the night before.

“Next week,” Liara answered as she stood. Now in possession of her shoes Jane quickly pulled on her socks and then her shoes which she tied tightly.

Jane grabbed a brush and quickly tugged it through her hair before using a tie to give herself a scruffy half up and half down. “I’ll ask Samara today if she can help us.”

“If she can’t maybe Nhiami, you trust her enough that she can easily slip in.” Liara added as they left their quarters and went to join the others to do their morning run.

Jane grinned as she stretched a little, “Time to start the epic training montage.” She told Liara playfully before she jogged off.

“Finally,” Garrus breathed happy to have his friend back. “She slept right?” he asked as everyone started to follow.

Liara nodded, “Yeah, she was out before I got back from my appointment. Slept the whole night.”

“How did she manage that?” Ashley asked, she was beginning to find it hard to sleep at night.

“White noise, soft calming music playing in the background… our rooms are too quiet.” Liara explained.

“Might have to give it a try.” Ashley remarked, the rest of the group silently decided to give it a try as well.

Jane turned around and jogged backwards. “Hey, if you lot have time to talk… we can go faster,” she told them as she sped up their pace.

“I’m going to hurt Yasma… she told Jane to consider this time until we get to Heleus to be an epic training montage…” Liara complained as they all picked up the pace to keep up with Jane.

Aria breathed as she fumbled some buttons on her omni-tool, music started to thump through the speakers around them. She smiled, “got to have a decent sound track for an epic montage.” She told Liara with a grin as she focused on moving.

“As long as I don’t have to flex, I hate flexing,” Garrus told the group.

“You didn’t say that last night,” Tali teased which caused chuckles and Garrus to cough in embarrassment.

“Don’t worry, I’ll flex for you.” James told him.

“Shh… before she makes us run faster,” Grunt told them and they all fell silent, after all the threat was real.


	14. Chapter 14 ~ The forgotten memory.

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Hi everyone,

So, this is my head cannon, I hope you enjoy it.

Have fun reading.

Chapter 14 ~ The forgotten memory.

“I’ll wait here until you are ready,” Samara said before she made herself comfortable and started to meditate to pass time. Jane and Liara went to the door, the week had passed quickly as they fell into a routine which involved lots of sleep only broken by sex. Yasma smiled as she looked at the pair, both looked relaxed and rested.

“So… white noise is helping?” she asked and got nods, she sat on a comfortable rug and gestured for them to join her.

“Very much so.” Jane told her as she and Liara sat before Yasma.

“Okay, so today I want to talk about the kid.” Yasma told her.

“Why,” Jane asked a little on edge.

Yasma smiled, “Because I had a theory that I finally could prove. See when you told me about the kid, showed me the image I remembered something you might not know. Our brains can’t dream made up faces, when we dream, we dream places, things and people we’ve seen before. So, then I wondered where the kid came from but I also believe you were right too. That Harbinger and the Reapers, pulled that kid from deep within your memories, to destroy your mental health and make it easier to take control of you.”

Jane shook her head, “I don’t remember…”

Yasma gave her an understanding look, “I know… and I think know why.” She typed on her omni-tool for a moment and saw out of the corner of her eye Liara grab Jane’s hand, to hold it and give her comfort. She brought up a picture, a class photo and zoomed in on the kid and showed Jane. The Shadow Broker was a shrewd person, after listening to Yasma’s theory they delved into the Commander’s early life and that is where they found the kid, in the Mindoir records.

Jane looked at the image and felt fear and crushing guilt grip her, tears welled in her eyes and she didn’t know why.

“His name was Tommy… Tommy Reece.” Yasma told her hoping to prompt anything.

Images and memories Jane hadn’t known she had surged to the surface, “he lived next door…” she told the room. “I used to baby sit him…” she turned to Yasma, “how is it I can remember him but don’t remember him?”

Yasma shrugged, “there will be a reason, perhaps a way to cope, I was hoping today if the meld goes okay, we could try to start looking for why…”

“No…” Liara said firmly as she stood.

“But…” Yasma started to say.

“You don’t understand… you won’t…” Liara tried to explain, instead she just went to the door and let Samara in. “She wants to meld with Jane and delve for memories Jane has suppressed.” She told the Matriarch.

Samara frowned as she considered Liara.

“Um… why is Justicar Samara here?” Yasma asked, Samara was not one of her clients.

Samara turned to Yasma, “because you wanted to start melding,” she answered simply. Yasma frowned in confusion. “If I remember correctly you are Janara’s daughter correct?” Samara asked and Yasma nodded. “Did your mother know you are Jane’s therapist?” she asked.

“I didn’t generally talk about my clients with my mother.” Yasma explained.

Samara glanced to Jane then back to Yasma, “Forgive me Jane, I will say this bluntly, her mind, is like nothing you’ve ever melded with before. Your own mother had issues melding deeply with her, when she, Aynge and Shayee went to delve, they couldn’t without me to protect them. Jane knows you better than she knew them, we are hoping you won’t need me to help after the first few times.” She then turned to Liara. “It is probably better that I am here while you go after those suppressed memories though.”

Samara sat next to Jane and took her gloves off, Liara sat on the other side of Jane and Yasma sat directly across from her, the other two Asari also took off their gloves. “You’ll meld with me and Liara first. Then… with Jane and Jane, let her feel your wall.”

Jane nodded and watched as Yasma first melded with Samara and then with Liara. Yasma opened her eyes after she pulled out of Liara’s meld, Liara was a Maiden but her mind was anything but that.

Samara chuckled, she had, after Janara had asked, made a point to meld with Liara a few times so that she could understand what the other Matriarch had experienced. “Not what you expected… have you melded with humans before?”

Yasma nodded, “I have.”

“Try to meld with Jane,” Samara goaded.

Yasma reached out and took Jane’s hands in her own, they closed their eyes and breathed for a few moments, “Embrace Eternity,” she said as her biotics flared a moment later she jerked her hands away from Jane’s, she had slammed hard into a golden wall that sent a surge of power at her, repelling her and leaving behind a tingle in her hands. “What was that?” she asked as she shook her hands.

“The wall that protects my mind, or the Fortress.” Jane said referring to the nickname Shayee had given it.

Samara took Yasma’s hand, a few moments later they had melded and a few more after that they were before the wall. Samara held out her hand and Yasma watched as the golden wall opened, Samara pushed her in and just waited, letting Yasma feel why they were all being cautious. Again, Yasma fled Jane’s mind a jerked her eyes open and even scooted back a little.

She stared at Jane in shock, her mind was like no mind she had ever melded with before, she was now beginning to understand the reports she had read from the three Matriarchs but even then, it seemed like Jane’s mind was still growing and becoming.

“Are you okay, we can take a break,” Jane asked.

Yasma calmed herself with just a few breaths, she glanced to Samara then to Liara. “Was…”

Both shook their heads not even letting her finish her question. “I’ve only known Jane’s mind since she died…” Samara explained then frowned, “wait… that doesn’t give a time frame… Jane’s died too many times.”

Liara snorted in amusement as Samara was right, Jane has died way too many times.

Samara grinned, “Since before the Collector base and the Omega 4 run.”

“Just say after my spaced death,” Jane told her.

Samara nodded, “I’ve only known Jane’s mind since her more permanent death… see even that doesn’t work… spaced death.” She corrected. “Yeah that works.”

Liara covered her face and tried not to laugh, she noticed Yasma looking at her. “Sadly, I’ve only known how Jane’s mind was after she directly interacted with a Prothean beacon, the first time, the second time I did notice a few changes, but nothing too much.”

“I also died for a few seconds after each interaction.” Jane reminded her.

“Yes…” Liara agreed.

Yasma glanced between the three women, “You’re pulling my leg.”

Jane shook her head and counted off on her fingers, first and second Prothean beacons, spaced, Leviathan and then wave. “Five… I have technically died five times…”

Yasma stared, disbelieving her statement.

“It’s in my medical records.” Jane told her.

Liara considered what Yasma wanted to ask. “Jane’s mind… only became what it did during the battle of London, after she threw off Harbinger’s indoctrination.”

“Ready to try again?” Samara asked.

“There was a second mind in there,” Yasma stated, although the other mind felt like an extension of Jane’s.

“There was a second mind in our minds as well, Jane’s is just… more vocal.” Liara explained. “it’s the tech within our bodies.”

Yasma nodded and moved back into position, she was beginning to understand why they were being cautious. Samara grabbed Yasma and together they went into Jane’s mind only this time Samara stayed with her. A few moments later Liara found them, unlike them however gold seemed to cling to Liara. Finally, Jane joined them, Yasma’s jaw dropped as she felt Jane’s core being for the first time, it was bright like looking at a star and glimmered with gold. Slowly she noticed she wanted to cower away.

 _That is the will that repulsed Harbinger, the will to keep going, to survive,_ Samara told her as Yasma strengthened her own core being to stand up to Jane’s. It was one of the things she was good at, at reinforcing her own being so as not to be swept up by another, it was why she specialised in meld therapy with PTSD and Trauma, although she didn’t need to meld to help people. Jane had noticed she made Yasma uncomfortable and although unable to change her core being, she did manage to shield it a little, she was no longer a little too bright to look at and in fact she started to look like herself again.

Yasma glanced around, beginning to understand why people had issues explaining Jane’s mind, in structure it was more along the lines of a powerful Ancient Asari Matriarch, but at the same time it wasn’t. Scars littered the landscape; some were even stitched together with golden treads.

 _So… what now?_ Jane asked.

 _I think we’ll s…_ Yasma started to say.

 _I know this isn’t my place,_ Samara said cutting in. _But we should try to find those suppressed memories, purely so that we can get an idea as to how Jane’s mind will react, to see if I and Liara have to be here whenever you broach them._

Yasma had wanted to call an end to the meld but Samara was right, they needed to know how Jane’s mind was going to react. _Okay… you are right… we need to know how Jane’s mind will react._

 _Now to find something I didn’t know existed._ Jane told them.

Yasma glanced around, _you’ve hidden this for so long…_ she stated as she looked around, _seriously… what is with the gold?_ She asked, it was everywhere but at the same time it was unobtrusive.

Jane glanced around, _you are not the first person to ask and the answer… I’m not sure either,_ she didn’t really pay that much attention to the gold but for the first time however a thread of gold sat at her feet. Reaching down, she went to grab the thread.

 _NO!_ Yasma called but it was too late, Jane’s hand grasped the thread and it instantly wrapped around Jane and they were suddenly elsewhere.

Liara glanced around, trying to figure out where she was, she recognised the design of the structure immediately, she had been in a few of them. Samara and Yasma found her quickly, _where are we?_ Yasma asked.

Liara turned to her, _A guess… Mindoir, this is where Jane spent her childhood._

They went looking for Jane, Liara paused after walking pass a door and stepped back, a teenage Jane was laying on her bed, reading an actual book, it was night out and she was waiting for her parents to come home.

 _Jane?_ Liara said but the young Jane didn’t notice her.

Jane jerked as the sound of an explosion reach her ears. Placing her book face down on the bed she got to her feet and went to get shoes, she was dressed in light sleeping clothes. Liara went to touch her but Yasma grabbed her and shook her head.

Jane paused just before she grabbed her shoes, the sounds of pops reached her ears, gun fire. Ignoring her shoes, she raced to the front door, the three Asari only just managed to get out of her way and followed. Jane ran down some steps and saw a shadow loom out at her and felt pain explode from her gut. She dropped to the ground and coughed as she curled around where she was struck.

Liara could do nothing but watch, even if she wanted to intervene both Samara and Yasma held her back. The Batarian stepped on Jane’s back, holding her down.

“Jane!” a little boy called as he raced out of his home.

“Tommy,” Jane said gently, as she saw another Batarian near the little boy she watched; when his parents were busy. She tried to push herself up but the bat which had knocked the wind from her struck her head. The edges of her vision darkened but she managed to stay conscious.

The Batarian near Tommy held up something like a flame thrower just as Tommy’s parents ran out after their son, a jet of concentrated acid hit them and they started to melt right before her eyes. The smell of dissolving flesh filled her nose.

“No… RUN!” she yelled but it was too late as a jet of acid was sprayed at Tommy. She watched as Tommy started to melt before her, a scream caught in his throat.

“Fucker… get off my daughter,” a male voice said and the Batarian who had forced her to watch Tommy die was slammed into and sent flying.

Jane’s father kept going and although he held nothing but a length of pipe, he killed the Batarian with the acid thrower before they had a chance to aim at him, with a powerful strike and went after the one who had hurt his daughter.

Jane’s eyes never left the spot where Tommy had stood. Jane’s father dragged her to her feet a few minutes later but still her eyes never left that spot.

“JANE!” her father yelled before he slapped her, finally breaking her out of the loop she had been stuck in.

“Dad… Tommy…” she started to say but he forced her to focus on him or she would slip back into the loop.

“I know…” he told her as he stroked her face, “Jane I need to you run… get out of the settlement.”

“But…” Jane started to say.

“You can’t help me,” he told her firmly, rudely even, but it was true, “You need to run, go to the hide… you’ll be safe there…”

“But…” Jane said in shock.

“No… you need to Survive… that is all you need to do… is Survive.” He told her firmly and she nodded. “RUN!” He yelled at her as he shoved her in the general direction, he didn’t promise to find her, or that they would meet up later, just to run and run she did.

She ran pass burning building, screams filled her ears as she was forced to come to a stop as she came upon another acid thrower, was it her luck which had the weapon jam or just coincidence, it mattered not she started to run again, ignoring the pain in her feet as the ground cut them up.

 _Damn she is fast,_ Yasma complained as the three Asari followed Jane, Samara and Liara however seemed to have no problems keeping up, probably thanks to their morning runs.

 _You should join us in Jane’s daily epic training montage,_ Samara remarked dryly but there were teasing undertones to her mental voice.

They got out of the settlement and Jane instantly veered left into trees, she only just managed to dodge the larger branches as she held up her arms to protect her face. She could hear the sounds of pursuit but she kept going, there was a quick way to get to where she needed to go and that was the river which was just on the other side of these trees. Plunging into the cold-water Jane’s body stung where the water touched fresh cuts and grazes. Taking a deep breath Jane submerged completely and started to breast stroke with the flow of the water, every now and again she would surface to take a breath and check where she was, her father and her generally came by kayak.

After ten minutes of swimming and checking she could just make out the large rock which jutted into the river. Swimming around it she pulled herself up onto the shore. The hum of shuttle engines had her moving again, she almost ran past what she was looking for, the hide was something she had built with her father, a camp for when they went out to rough it, it was well hidden and camouflaged. Diving in she closed the cover and moved until her back was to the soil bank which the hide was made up against.

Jane shivered as cold and shock set in, she curled up into a ball, hugging her knees to her chest even as her teeth chatted. She reached for a thin silver sheet which had been tucked into a bag left in the room and wrapped herself in it. The hum of engines only just managed to drown out the screams that Jane could hear in the distance. Covering her head with the silver sheet she then covered her ears with her hands and closed her eyes, blocking out the world as she just shivered in the darkness.

Samara watched Jane as she cowered under the silver sheet, she wanted to comfort the young woman, the mother inside her ached for the child who just had her world destroyed.

 _How didn’t they find her?_ Yasma asked even as she fought to keep herself together, she had thought the supressed memory was bad… but nothing could have prepared her for the reality.

Liara fought not to go and comfort Jane for a few moments but Yasma’s question forced her to look around, to think. _Gold?_ She questioned before she walked forward and studied the walls which had protected Jane from being captured then the silver sheet which covered her. _Alliance issue emergency thermal sheets, silver on the outside, golden on the inside, this whole place, is a thermal blank spot_.

 _Should we comfort her now?_ Samara asked but Yasma shook her head, the memory wasn’t over yet. They didn’t know how much time had passed in the dark hide, long enough as hunger and thirst drove her from her safe place, although she had rationed the small amount left in the sealed bucket. She listened carefully, for the screams, for the hum of engines but it was quiet except for the sound of birds and wildlife. Carefully she limped to the river and using a bottle that had been left behind and the purification tablets stored in the base she managed to get water into her body.

The snap of a twig had her turning and just as she was about to run her eyes landed on a human in Alliance N7 gear like what her parents owned. Her legs collapsed under her as a younger Alec, David and Steven raced forward.

“Jane,” Alec said as he tore off his helmet, he then knelt and caught her shoulders, they had been searching for a while and the last spot he had wanted to check was the hide, they had all used it for camping once so he knew roughly where it was, if his friends or their child lived, he was sure that is where they would find them. “She’s freezing.”

From a bag carried by Steven another thermal blanket was produced and clumsily wrapped around Jane, the golden internal layer filled her vision.

“It’s alright, your safe now.” Alec told her as he pulled her into his arms and held her close. Finally, Jane felt her grip on consciousness fail as she feinted and the memory finally paused.

 _Okay… I think we can take the three men’s places, Liara you hold her._ Yasma told her and Liara nodded and took Alec’s place, holding Jane close to her body.

 _How do we get her out of this without hurting her?_ Samara asked, as she was at the moment if they weren’t careful, they could hurt Jane’s core being.

Yasma shrugged, she simply did not know, this was a very powerful memory that they had just brought to the surface, a memory long supressed, they had felt Jane’s fear and terror and grief in their rawest forms. Liara however started to hum the notes to the song which played in the background as they slept. Slowly Jane transformed from the scared young woman who had just survived a horrible event in her life to the woman she had fallen in love with, then slowly she came back to herself.

Jane blinked and glanced around, _Fuck… how did I forget that?_ She asked.

Yasma shrugged as the memory dissolved around them and then they left Jane’s mind. Jane opened her eyes and watched as Yasma lurched to her feet and raced to the bathroom, they could all hear her throwing up. Samara reached forward and gently wiped away tears that had fallen from her left eye, Liara was taking care of the tears from her right.

Yasma walked out of her bathroom and took a deep breath, she moved over to a cupboard and poured four measures of a clear grain spirit and walked them over to the three other women and offered them before she sat. Generally, she didn’t advocate drinking while working through bad memories but… this would be the only time she could say they needed it. They all knocked back their drinks and just waited as they processed what they had just seen.

Yasma turned on her omni-tool and made an appointment to talk to another therapist. “Do you mind if I chat to another Therapist about what I saw?” she asked, she could speak in broad terms but it would be easier if she didn’t have to.

Jane nodded understanding that just like herself Yasma needed to come to terms with what she had been shown.

“May I too?” Samara asked and again Jane nodded.

“How could I forget that?” Jane asked again.

Samara gripped her knee, “It was the only way your mind could come up with to survive.”

Yasma nodded in agreement but then she frowned, surely, they would have had her in therapy yet they hadn’t managed to draw this memory out. How did Jane become so… compassionate? “You know… after seeing that I could have totally understood if you had grown to hate Batarians… but you didn’t.”

Jane watched Yasma for a moment, “Ellen,” Jane told her in explanation. “After I went to live with Alec and his family…” she hesitated, she wasn’t proud of how she was back then. “I was angry all the time… and Therapy wasn’t working.”

Yasma nodded, the anger she could understand and she could even see why the therapy hadn’t helped, Jane had buried her trauma, she hadn’t meant to but she did and without a way to pull it out, other than traumatising her further they had adopted a waiting pattern. However, Jane had adjusted on her own, had grown into a seemingly well-adjusted young woman.

“Ellen… I was having a really bad day… I didn’t know why I was angry, why I just wanted to hurt someone but I couldn’t, the only people around me were Sara, Scott and Ellen, and I couldn’t hurt them.” Jane rubbed her knuckles, “But I was so angry, started punching a wall and then I couldn’t stop.” Jane covered her face, back then it hadn’t made sense to her, now it did but back then… no. Yasma reached back and grabbed some tissues and offered them around. Jane wiped away her tears but more kept welling in her eyes.

“Ellen… she stopped me, I almost punched her but I stopped, Sara and Scott weren’t there, I’m sure they would have been scared to see me like that.” Jane told her. “She… tended my bloody fists and then she started to talk. At first… I don’t even remember what she said, just her tone, it was calm, understanding. When she realised, she had me, she told me I was allowed to be angry and sad and scared and whatever other emotions I was feeling.” She explained. “I don’t remember what I said back, but Ellen she told me I could hate the Batarians for taking away my life, people would understand, she would understand and would never try to convince me to change that. But then she asked me if I wanted to be an angry… bitter… hateful person the rest of my life, would my parents have wanted that for me?”

Jane paused, “I replied what do they care, they’re dead.” She leant back a little.

“Ellen said, of course they still care, just because they are dead doesn’t mean they still aren’t your parents.” She told them, “I didn’t know them that well but I do know that they wanted so much for you, but they wouldn’t have wanted you to stop being the person they raised, Ellen told me.”

Yasma was impressed with what Ellen had done to bring Jane around, the fact that Jane could so vividly remember what Ellen had said, it was a pivotal point for Jane.

“Anyway, we talked for a bit… then… she changed everything, Hate… Jane… is a powerful thing, it consumes good people and grows into something really ugly. Thing about hate is that you have to let it consume you and let it destroy you and everything your parents wanted for you. You don’t have to forgive the Batarians, you don’t even have to like them but don’t hate them, don’t let them have any more power over you.” Jane explained. “Next day there was a punching bag and a pair of gloves in the gym for me to use, for when I was angry. But I stopped getting angry all the time, instead I started reading and learning, learning about Batarians, then I stopped being angry at them. They are what their cultures made them to be, could I say any different for some of the things humans did to each other all in the name of culture.”

“And that is why you spent so much time learning about the races around you and why you could never bring yourself to Hate the Reapers.” Liara stated, Jane had been angry at them, disliked them but she never hated them, she didn’t hate Saren, she didn’t even hate the Collectors for killing her.

Jane nodded, “Learning about what I didn’t understand, it, kind of became my way of coping with stress.” She glanced to Liara, “learning about you, that was just fun.”

Liara blushed.

Yasma was checking her schedule, ideally, she wanted to see Jane daily until they had unpacked this a little more but she had other clients and she was getting irritated that this excuse kept popping up. “Ideally I would rather see you daily but I can’t see you tomorrow because I have other clients.”

Jane nodded in understanding.

“In fact, I’ve been putting off those clients because I’ve been trying to figure out how I would council an AI.” Yasma explained.

“Edi,” Jane stated and Yasma nodded. Jane typed on her omni-tool, “this is Councillor Glitch’s contact information, hopefully she will know people who have come to be therapists for AI.”

Yasma took the info gratefully and frowned as she tried to figure out when she could call.

“You can call her whenever, she is Geth… Geth don’t really sleep.” Jane added and Yasma nodded.

Yasma closed her omni-tool, “Now… don’t be surprised if you have vivid dreams or nightmares for a while, it is your mind coming to terms with what happened to you.”

Jane nodded and stood, “Mind if I use your bathroom?”

Yasma nodded, “sure.”

Jane walked off.

Yasma turned to Liara once the door was closed, “Don’t leave her alone for the next week, she might go into a depressive state.” Liara nodded. Yasma then turned to Samara, “and thank you for being here.”

Samara nodded. Jane returned to them and went to sit again but the other three women were standing and putting their gloves back on.

“I think we will stop here.” Yasma told her and Jane nodded.

Samara touched Jane’s arm, “I am glad we became friends.” She told Jane who just gave her a puzzled look. “You are more than the sum of your rememberable actions. I am glad I’ve gotten to know the real you, not the hero, not the saviour… but the kind and caring woman you truly are. The one who offered comfort after Morinth’s death, who refused to let me kill myself after Rila’s, who gave me the chance to know and be in my final daughter’s life.” She pulled Jane into her arms and gave her the hug she had wanted to give her back in the hide, letting Jane feel her love, because she did love Jane, as a friend and a sister.

Jane hugged her back tightly, not feeling the need to say anything to her other than to hold her. Slowly they let each other go, Samara reached up and tucked some of Jane’s bright red hair behind her ear before she stepped away.

Jane and Liara left first. Yasma turned to Samara, “My therapist is yours, want to go together?”

Samara nodded, “Makes sense, we can chat to her together.”

Aria rang the call button on Liara and Jane’s door a day later, a few moments later Jane answered the door. Aria pushed her aside and walked in, not waiting to be invited. Jane shut the door and followed the Asari into her home, “I told her I was going to be fine alone,” Jane griped.

Aria held up a bottle with a clear blue liquid in it, “Although we can’t get drunk anymore, I brought grog.”

Jane went and got tumblers as Aria made herself comfortable on Jane’s couch. She picked up the real book Jane had been reading and looked at it before returning it to the coffee table.

“Your bondmate is looking out for you, Samara said you had a tough session and that is why you weren’t there for training this morning.” Aria said as Jane finally returned with cups and placed them on the coffee table.

“Tough… understatement.” Jane remarked as she flopped into the chair beside Aria.

Aria poured a couple of fingers of the blue liquid into each cup. “Not exactly Serrice Ice but… it has a good bite.” She offered a cup to Jane and they both took mouthfuls.

They sat in silence for several minutes, just sipping at their drinks, enjoying the bite of alcohol even though they couldn’t get drunk from it. “I suppressed a very painful memory from the night I lost my parents, Rho…”

“That Reaper beacon you killed by smashing an asteroid into a Relay?” Aria asked for confirmation and Jane nodded.

“Managed to see part of it and decided to use it to torment me, to break me so that I couldn’t fight off Harbinger.” Jane explained, she knew she didn’t have to go into detail with Aria, she simply wasn’t interested in all the details, just what was important. It was a little refreshing to not have to go into detail. “A kid who lived next door, who I used to watch, who I watched die, he found that even though I forgot it. He looked so real even though it was a figment of mind, I watched a Reaper kill him and then watched him die, over and over again in my dreams. But it didn’t have the right impact, I didn’t remember why it should have destroyed me.”

“Fucking Reapers, just when you think they can’t get any more despicable, fucking with your head.” Aria grabbed the bottle and topped up their glasses.

“Fucking?” Jane asked, Aria spoke as if it was present tense instead of the past tense.

“Yeah… I guess the dream came back right?” Aria asked and Jane nodded, “Then yeah… still fucking with you, need to kick that shit out.” She knocked back her drink, she didn’t really have many good methods for dealing with shit, drinking, killing and sex, those were her options although she too was seeing a Therapist, mandatory for those who wanted to come. Drinking was out, they couldn’t get drunk, sex… could work but… she didn’t think Jane was in the mood for kind of sex she liked when dealing with shit, that left killing… or gratuitous violence, they were same thing to Aria. They both liked explosions so it seemed like a good fit. “This is boring… let’s go blow shit up.”

Jane grinned, knocked back her drink and went to put on shoes. Once Jane had her shoes on, she quickly scribbled a note so that Liara would know that she went to Armax Arena, there were only two places where they could go to blow stuff up and one was the weapon range, she doubted Aria would take her there.

Liara stormed into Armax Arena followed by Thea, this was not what she meant when she asked Aria to keep an eye on her bondmate. Aria had just needed to sit and maybe watch a vid, she wasn’t going to be gone for long. “Liara, you need to calm down,” Thea told her.

“Calm, this is not what I meant when I said keep an eye on her,” Liara argued and Thea started to laugh.

It took Thea a moment before she went to explain her laughter. “Liara, you asked my bondmate to watch yours. I love Aria but what did you really expect would happen, that they would sit quietly and watch a vid.” She asked. “Just be thankful we didn’t walk in on them passed out drunk or fucking, this is how Aria deals with her issues, sex, drinking and violence.”

They walked until they came to a viewing platform of the main battle Arena, Jane and Aria were bunkered down behind a barricade. They carried special weaponry designed for use in the field, working together they created a large biotic explosion to take out a swarm of husks.

“Hold…” a female voice demanded over speakers.

“Damn I thought we made it strong enough.” A male Geth voice said with slight frustration. “Give us a week to reconfigure then come back and try that move again.”

Jane and Aria stood and looked at the torn-up field then bumped fists before they skated around the damage and left.

“Oops…” Jane said when she saw Liara who looked angry.

“Hey babe,” Aria called as she returned her weapons. Jane also returned her weapons then both walked over.

A Salarian and a Geth walked forward, “thank you for the data.” The Salarian said, she was young and bouncy with green markings.

“If you want to make sure it can withstand anything you should get Jack, Jane and I in there.” Aria told her and she nodded.

“We can repair this,” the Geth said. “Might have to talk to some engineers back in the Milky way, there has to be a way to prevent the field being damaged.” The pair walked off talking.

Liara moved to Jane and gently started to check to make sure her love was unharmed.

“Hey all her important bits are fine.” Aria told her and Thea frowned at her, that was not the response Liara wanted.

Liara glared at Aria, “this is not what I meant when I asked you to keep an eye on her.”

Aria gave Liara a piercing look, “If you wanted someone to watch a vid, call them, originally I wanted to get her drunk, but we can’t get drunk anymore… our bots won’t let us. I also didn’t think you would appreciate me tying up your bondmate and fucking her into oblivion, at least as long as you weren’t there to watch, so… I went with explosions.”

A blush appeared on Liara’s face as her mind imagined what Aria had said.

A predatory grin appeared on Aria’s face, “maybe I should have gone with sex.” She glanced between Liara and Thea as both women had imagined that. “I mean if you wait… ten… no… fifteen minutes… I am sure Jane and I can get pretty close to whatever just appeared in your heads.”

Jane suddenly realised what Aria had and blushed herself.

“So… we never decided when we’ll do that foursome,” Aria remarked.

Liara went to argue.

“No… you already put forward your condition, you cannot change it, you said never in the milky way galaxy, we are no longer in the milky way galaxy.” Aria reminded her.

Liara turned to Jane to defend her.

“I warned you, more than once not to give a condition.” Jane reminded her.

“You decided to come just to get your foursome?” Liara accused.

“No… well yes… mainly no,” Aria answered as she draped an arm around Thea.

Thea leant into Aria’s body as they started to walk back to their living quarters. Thea and Aria stopped at their door as Jane and Liara kept moving, “Don’t forget, After Life… tomorrow.” Aria told them, she had decided to have a bar warming with those from the Normandy, it was also a dry run to make sure the club would run smoothly.

Jane waved at the pair and kept walking to their door and when they walked in Jane waited for the argument to begin, she had technically sided with Aria instead of her bondmate. Liara stepped ahead for a moment, reached back and grabbed Jane’s shirt and dragged her further into the room. Jane didn’t fight her as Liara effectively flung her into a lounge and straddled her.

“I’m sorry,” Jane told her after several moments of silence.

Liara sighed and pressed her forehead to Jane’s, she did not like fighting with her love and she had to admit that she was actually at fault for this. “No… I am sorry… I should have listened to you.”

Jane rested her hands on Liara’s hips, “So… how are we dealing with Aria.”

Liara sighed, “I don’t know.” She leant in and gave Jane a kiss, it was hungry.

Jane grinned, “But it turned you on huh, hearing what Aria would have done to me had she not decided on explosions.”

Liara blushed.

“Do you want to tie me up and fuck me into oblivion?” Jane asked.

Liara frowned, “I can’t even imagine doing that.”

“Do you want me to tie you up and fuck you into oblivion?” Jane queried as she slid a hand under the shirt Liara was wearing as Liara bit her bottom lip and gave Jane a heated look. Both their omni-tools went off, a reminder about a meeting they were both to attend, both groaned and glared at their tools for a moment.

“So… raincheck?” Jane asked and Liara nodded as she got off of Jane.

Jane stood and together they went to their meeting.

****

Jane, Liara and Samara walked into Yasma’s office the next day, Yasma had managed to clear her afternoon so that they could focus on Jane. They sat together on a thick rug, the three Asari were already removing their gloves. “Okay Jane… how have you been sleeping?” Yasma asked before they started.

“Nightmares, but… they never stopped me from slipping straight back to sleep.” Jane explained.

“Lots of twitching in her sleep though,” Liara added.

Jane winced, she had kicked Liara a few times during the night, Liara took her hand and squeezed it.

“And how have you been during the day, any flash backs…” Yasma asked, Jane seemed to be okay, but Jane had developed a way to appear strong when in fact she was crumbling on the inside.

Jane shook her head, “no, nothing like that…”

“She has woken a few times crying.” Liara added and Jane nodded.

“I also get sad every now and again for no reason.” Jane added.

Yasma nodded.

“Blowing stuff up helped,” Jane said with a smile and Liara pushed her.

“You blew stuff up?” Yasma asked.

“Yeah, Aria and I went and tested out Armax Arena’s facilities.” Jane explained.

Yasma shook her head with a sigh, “Aria,” she said slightly resigned, Aria and Thea were also her clients so she had a better understanding of what Aria considered therapy.

Liara sighed, “Jane has been more relaxed since she blew stuff up with Aria.”

“Aria and Jane are both people of action,” Yasma remarked. “Okay, so we know why they picked Tommy and your dad’s words, now I would like to see that dream if possible.”

Jane nodded and closed her eyes to wait for the others to join her. Liara joined her quickly and gave her a hug and a kiss.

Yasma and Samara joined them, _Hey, how long have you had that?_ she asked Samara as she pointed to a gold band around her left wrist. She hadn’t noticed it the last time they melded.

Samara glanced down to see what Yasma was referring to. Lifting her arm, she studied it for a moment, _I guess… after the war, it was just there._

Jane was looking down at the golden thread that waited at her feet.

 _It is probably the way the fortress knows Samara is a friend._ Liara supplied.

Jane took a deep breath, _ready to go?_ She asked the others and got nods; she grabbed the golden thread.

Everything dissolved and they were in a shadowy forest filled with shadowy figures. The ghostly kid was running away from Jane and Jane started to move but this time it wasn’t a frantic run but a purposeful stride, she didn’t even follow the ghost she just followed her memory to a clearing. After all, this was the forest she had run through to escape the Batarians.

 _Jane… what are you doing?_ Yasma asked as she edged into the clearing but felt hands holding onto her, Liara and Samara felt that it would be wrong to get too close just yet.

Jane ignored her and waited, eventually the ghost came to stand before Jane, _“why didn’t you help me?”_ the ghost asked in Tommy’s voice.

 _“You aren’t Tommy…”_ Jane told it.

 _“Why didn’t you save me?”_ It taunted again.

Jane sighed, _“Seriously… stop hiding behind Tommy Rho.”_ She told him firmly.

Tommy started to transform into the Reaper beacon.

Jane watched and waited for it to finish shedding its false form.

 _So, you found me,_ Rho remarked.

 _You’re dead… this is just an echo, a shadow, something that doesn’t belong… get out._ Jane said firmly, she started to glow again, no longer supressing her true self.

 _We are the future…_ Rho started to say, his words were meant to be compelling, to bend her will and turn her into a Reaper Agent and then eventually into the Human Reaper. However, they didn’t touch Jane or the Asari behind her because his power was hollow and Jane was unconsciously shielding them from it.

Jane shook her head and replayed the death of the Reapers, the footage of the wave she had seen, not so much for Rho but for herself and those around her, for the shadows in the forest, to show them their deaths were not in vain, that they had won. _No, you are dead, I killed you… and I killed your first… Harbinger… is dead… I watched him burn…_ Jane told him as again she brought up first Harbinger going down and then him being dragged and released into the gravity of the Sol systems sun. _Get… the…_

Liara suddenly sensed the danger coming and ran at Jane. Samara realised just as quickly and dragged Yasma to Jane. _Hold on… tight… focus on your core… you are going to feel what Jane did to throw Harbinger out of her mind in raw form not memory._ Samara told Yasma even as she focused on her own core and wrapped her arms firmly around the brightness that Jane was becoming, Liara was holding onto Jane from behind, Yasma and Samara wrapped their arms around Jane’s waist.

 _FUCK… OUT… OF… MY… HEAD…_ Jane yelled and just like she had swept Harbinger permanently from her mind she released that golden wave to eject the fragment of Rho left behind in her mind.

Yasma only just managed to hold on as she felt the golden wave tear at her, wanting to remove her from Jane’s mind. The love, defiance and shear will of force in the wave hit Yasma, she felt it cling for a few moments before it realised, she was allowed in Jane’s mind and moved on to focus on the shadow in Jane’s mind, the thing that didn’t belong or was welcome here. Yasma kept her eyes screwed tight and just kept holding on even as the golden wave faded, Rho was gone from Jane’s mind for good.

 _It’s okay… he’s gone now…_ Jane told her.

Yasma opened her eyes and slowly started to glance around and release Jane. _Jane what the…_ she glanced around as the shadowy forest was no more, in its place was normal looking forest. The dream then dissolved around them, a few moments later Jane was gone leaving the three Asari in the landscape of her mind. _What… where is Jane?_ She asked.

Liara shrugged even as she frowned, she was often in Jane’s, there had always been an anxious edge, an uneasy and oppressed feeling sitting in the background of Jane’s mind since before the war. It was gone.

 _Um… has Jane just left us alone in her mind… can that happen?_ Samara asked.

Liara noticed a golden thread and knelt next to it, _I don’t think she’s left us alone I think she is elsewhere._ She pointed to the thread.

Yasma shivered, she had only just managed to keep herself together during that. _Why didn’t we flee?_ She asked the other two.

 _We wouldn’t have made it safely out in time, and I have a feeling if you had been ejected you would not have been able to meld with Jane again._ Samara explained, the wave had touched her, but it seemed to curve around her, she still felt it but at the same time; felt it register her as being safe, allowed. She pointed to Yasma’s left wrist and the gold band that encased it, marking her as safe. _You should be safe to meld without me now…_

 _Not in a billion years,_ Yasma stated firmly, she would not do deep melds without assistance.

 _Ready to go find Jane?_ Liara asked and the other two nodded and grabbed a hold of Liara just before she grabbed the thread.

They were back on Mindoir at dusk although it could have been any other day then the day Jane’s whole destiny had changed. Liara went to a ladder and started to climb, once she was up, she found Jane, sitting on top of the structure so she went to join her. Jane was watching Tommy as he played with a model ship. Tommy stopped and glanced up to Jane. “Hey Jane come play with me,” Tommy asked in a way that only a child could, as a demand and a request.

“Not today Tommy,” Jane told him.

“TOMMY… DINNER…” a female voice called and Tommy ran back into his home.

“Jane… come in please,” Jane’s mother called.

“Five more minutes.” Jane called back and then the memory froze. Jane turned to Liara for a moment before she looked out on the Mindoir she remembered. “I always found it hard to go back to Mindoir, quick visits I could manage but I could never go back, I didn’t know why but now I know it is because of the painful memories I had buried. I want to remember this Mindoir, laughter, happy and carefree, not the one filled with screams, death and fear.” The memory dissolved around her; they were back in the landscape of her mind.

 _See you out there,_ Samara told her as she grabbed Yasma and they left the meld, leaving Jane and Liara alone, Liara wrapped her arms around Jane and held her tightly, _the more I know, the more I love._ She told Jane and let her feel her love.

 _I’m sorry my issues have taken over…_ Jane started to say but Liara kissed her gently.

 _For now, you need me to be strong… like all the times I have needed you to be strong for me, in the past and in the future. That is what it means to be bondmates._ Liara told her.

Jane smiled; _I love you._ She said as she held her love for a few moments. _I believe they are waiting for us._

Liara nodded, _and expect Yasma to be pissed._

Jane nodded and both left Jane’s mind, Jane opened her eyes and waited for Yasma to tell her off for doing something reckless.

Yasma watched her, while Jane and Liara were talking in Jane’s mind Samara had managed to calm Yasma a little. “Jane… what the fuck.” Yasma asked.

Jane rubbed the back of her neck, “I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you and tell you what I was going to do before I did it. It just kind of… happened.”

“Where did you get that idea from?” Yasma asked.

Jane glanced to Liara, “see… I was chatting with Aria…”

Yasma groaned and placed a hand on her forehead, “Please… tell me she did not tell you to do that?”

Jane shook her head, “No… not really… see after I told her about Tommy and the dreams she said, fucking with my mind, present tense like Rho and Harbinger were still fucking with me and that I needed to kick that shit out.”

“Okay that sounds more like Aria.” Yasma remarked as she considered what Jane said. “So, there was a foreign memory in your mind.”

“Also… did you notice the difference in Jane’s mind after she removed Rho?” Liara asked, she didn’t expect Yasma to have felt it but Samara should have.

Samara nodded, “the… slight oppression was gone.”

Liara nodded.

“Why did you feel the need to show Rho…” Yasma started to say but Jane was shaking her head.

“I wasn’t showing Rho, I was showing the shadows, the ghosts. You might not have noticed but they started to vanish, it was brighter before I ejected Rho.” Jane explained.

Liara nodded, she had noticed it.

“Jane…” Yasma said seriously, “you could have seriously hurt me.”

Jane nodded taking the slight dressing down.

“That being said, I wasn’t hurt. But I am recommending you study with Samara daily, your mind, needs Asari mental training, to protect you and your bondmate.”

Jane nodded, that seemed fair.

Yasma sighed and relaxed, “Makes me wonder how the Matriarchs missed suppressed memories and a foreign memory in your mind.”

“Probably overwhelmed with everything else.” Liara answered and Yasma nodded.

Samara shook her head, “Rho and Harbinger were stupid.”

Everyone turned to her, “How so?” Liara asked.

Samara considered her for a moment, “Granted, that was… a very scary and traumatic event.”

“There is a but in there,” Jane stated and Samara nodded.

“I thought your will to survive was born on Akuze, I believe many believe that. But your will to survive was born that day, your father’s only request, and it was reinforced on Akuze. They would have been better making something up rather than pick the one hidden memory that would drive you to survive, to fight and to remember a place so safe that you couldn’t be found or got at.” Samara explained.

“My fortress,” Jane remarked and got nods.

“Finally explains the gold.” Yasma stated and got nods. She turned to Jane, “How do you feel?”

Jane frowned for a moment, “Better, not fixed… but better, lighter…”

Yasma smiled, “We still have a lot to unpack…”

Jane nodded, a lot had happened in her life and she would probably be spending a lot of time coming to terms with it.

****

Jane knocked back the drink Aethyta had put down before her for After life’s breaking in, she winced as she forced it down. “What was that?” she asked with a rasp to her voice as the liquid burned.

“I was thinking… Shepard’s punch.” Aethyta told her seriously.

Jane frowned at her, “Please don’t…”

Aethyta laughed, “too late, this I got from the Milky way… it is called Shepard’s Punch, I am going to serve it.”

Jane groaned, “Come on…”

Aethyta leant on the bar, there wasn’t a lot of people at it, most of the people here were dancing. “You need to gain some arrogance; you saved the fucking milky way galaxy.”

“Liara didn’t marry me for arrogance…” Jane told her as she picked up another shot to toss back.

“No, she ‘married’ you because you know how to fuck her right,” Aethyta stated just as Jane knocked her shot.

Jane partially choked on the shot and even spat a little out. She forced the burning liquid down, her mouth burned, her throat burned and now her sinuses burned. Reaching forward she grabbed the dish cloth from Aethyta’s shoulder and blew her nose and wiped her face. She tossed the cloth to the wash bin and coughed, “Seriously… you are her father!”

“And…” Aethyta replied indifferently.

“Should you really be talking about your daughter’s sex life…” Jane asked.

Aethyta grunted, “I’m Asari… not human… sex isn’t something that is hidden for Asari, there was only one taboo and I broke that to give you Liara. You should know that… you’ve gone to a couple of our festivals and Aria keeps offering foursomes.”

“I’m human…” Jane told her.

“Pft…” Aethyta snorted in amusement, “You aren’t, you are member of clan Urdnot… makes you Krogan, your middle name is Drell, you bear a ship name like a Quarian.” She reminded Jane, “genetically… yeah your human… actually… you are something else, you’ve taken the best parts of all the races you’ve met into your being and made yourself into something more than ‘just’ a mere human. You think ‘just’ a human could do all you did… no…”

“Father,” Liara said as she came up behind Jane and held her. “Please stop lecturing my bondmate.”

Aethyta sighed, “no can do… it is my job… as a bartender, a father in law and a supposedly wise matriarch.” She gave Liara a shot, “Try that.”

Jane didn’t get a chance to warn Liara as she knocked back the shot, swallowed and then coughed.

“It’s called Shepard’s Punch…” Aethyta remarked as she poured out shots for the thirsty dancers. Jane walked off, she was tired after all of the training and made her way upstairs to Aria’s private room, she curled up on the couch and closed her eyes to sleep.

*

The party was breaking up, in theory though they could have kept going as they were having a rest day but James had scooped up Ashley and walked off with her and Miranda had practically dragged Jack from the club. The others had slowly filed out, to go home to their beds. Aethyta had teased them but the club itself wasn’t full of the right mood to keep them here, and the group had spent most of the day training so they were bound to be tired.

Aria was pleased with herself as she leant on the bar, for a dry run it had done well and she was looking forward to kicking everyone out so that she and Thea could break in her new divan.

“Have you seen my bondmate?” Liara asked and got shakes of the head from Aria, Thea and Aethyta.

“You guys go find Jane… I’ll finish cleaning up,” Aethyta told the three, she was actually done but they didn’t need to know that and the moment they were gone she was leaving.

They searched the lower level, it had lots of shadowy spots where couples could have get physical if they wanted and yet remain discrete. Aria frowned as she walked up stairs followed by Thea and Liara, after fifteen minutes of looking there was only one place Jane could be.

Aria crossed her arms and glared at the human who was passed out on her couch and without the excuse of being drunk but at least she didn’t have her boots on.

Liara rubbed her neck and turned to apologise to Aria as she scooped up Jane’s boots and hoodie which she had discarded. “Sorry, she had a very mentally exhausting day as well as physically. She… kicked… that… shit… out.” She explained and Aria suddenly looked a little uncomfortable.

“Yasma is going to kill me, right?” Aria asked.

Liara shook her head, “I don’t think so, although reckless it was sound advice.”

Aria glanced to Liara and then sighed; Jane was quiet a deep sleeper when she was comfortable Aria knew that quite well. “There goes breaking in my couch.” She muttered as she scooped Jane up into her arms to carry her back to her home knowing Liara did not have the strength to carry the human that far. Jane wrapped her arms around Aria and snuggled in closer.

“Thanks Aria.” Liara said gratefully.

“Yeah, yeah,” Aria said as she carried Jane down stairs and from the club. There were very few people out at this time of night, some Geth mainly but since they were working, they only glanced at Aria and went back to work. It took them ten minutes to get Jane back to her house, Aria carried Jane up to their bedroom and to her bed which Thea was turning down as Liara put Jane’s shoes away.

Aria put Jane down and went to back away but Jane held on tightly refusing to let her go.

“Yeah… she does that,” Liara told her apologetically as she went to help Aria get out of Jane’s hold. However, all it did was move Jane’s grip to around Aria’s waist and that was almost impossible to break free of.

Thea did her best not to laugh at what was happening.

Aria huffed, her plans tonight were ruined completely, “Jane owes me.” She glanced to Thea as she slid off her jacket and tossed it to her, “get my boots.” She ordered as she braced her body over Jane’s.

Thea knelt and started to remove Aria’s boots, and then her pants leaving Aria in a pair of underwear and a top. Aria went to crawl onto the bed, Jane groaned and hugged her tighter, pressing her face to Aria’s stomach, even bit her gently to hurry her.

“That better not leave a mark.” Aria remarked before she used a biotic lift to move them both into the centre of the bed before she laid down and allowed Jane to use her as a pillow. Liara got Jane out of her pants and socks, then moved to strip down to appropriate sleepwear. She felt eyes on her and did her best to ignore it, once she was ready, she moved to the bed and brought up her omni-tool. “Mind if I play some white noise?” she asked both, Thea was just about to slide in beside Aria, she shook her head, she didn’t mind, Aria also shook her head. Liara brought up the sound track and hit play, gentle music that could only just be heard played in the background. She reached for the blankets pulling them up before she crawled in next to Jane.

“Just so you know… this doesn’t count as a foursome.” Aria told Liara, Thea gave Aria a gentle hit to get her to shut up.

*

Jane woke slowly the next day, she frowned as she realised, she was sandwiched between people, a hand was up her shirt touching skin, she hoped that was Liara’s. Another arm was crossed over hers and was hugging the person she too was hugging. Jane’s eyes focused on familiar purple skin, lips brushed over her ear and she realised she was the last to wake.

“Morning,” she groaned as she felt Liara leave her and heard her go to the bathroom, she stretched slowly but refused to release her pillow.

Thea chuckled as she too had returned from using the bathroom after Liara and took the robe Liara offered.

“I’ll…” Liara started to say but paused as Aria had shifted, she braced herself over Jane’s body, forcing Jane onto her back. Leaning down she captured Jane’s lips and kissed her, Aria didn’t let Jane be passive, she claimed those lips, forced them to part and claimed the inside of Jane’s mouth. The kiss went on for a good thirty seconds before Aria finally broke it although she managed to bite Jane’s bottom lip as she pulled away.

“Generally, I expect sex for being a body pillow… just a warning for next time.” Aria told Jane as she finally moved away and went to the bathroom.

Liara and Thea hadn’t moved from their spots standing next to each other, they had a perfect angle to watch as Aria thoroughly claimed Jane’s lips.

Aria came out of the bathroom and propped a hip against the door frame even as Jane slipped passed her to use the toilet. “Enjoy the show?” she asked.

Thea and Liara turned to each other, neither could deny that watching two powerful people kiss was massively arousing. “It was hot,” Thea told her bondmate honestly mainly because Aria knew it should have been hot, if she didn’t admit it, she would get punished for it later.

Aria turned to Liara who just blushed and refused to answer. Aria caught Jane’s shirt just as she was leaving the bathroom, Jane paused and cast a puzzled look to Aria then to the others. With a quick movement Aria pulled Jane to her side of the door jam and then pressed her up against it. Catching Jane’s jaw with her left-hand Aria glanced to Liara as she leant in slowly but because Liara refused to answer Aria kissed Jane again. This kiss was just as demanding as the previous although this time Aria’s right hand slid down Jane’s body to her thigh. Hooking Jane’s leg around her body her hand crept up again and slid under Jane’s shirt a little.

Jane managed to break the kiss and panted, “What…” she said as she went to push Aria off her but found her hands trapped by singularity fields.

Aria’s lips moved to Jane’s neck.

“Aria,” Liara exclaimed finally finding her voice.

“And…” Aria asked in a leading manner.

Liara’s blush was part arousal and part anger, “And it was hot…” Liara told her reluctantly.

Aria finally released Jane; Jane quickly escaped before Aria could trap her again. Aria however was grinning, “You want to watch me take Jane, right? It turns you on.”

Liara pulled Jane close to her body, “Maybe I want to watch her take you, it might wipe away some of that smugness.” Liara snapped before she pushed Jane from the room.

Aria chuckled, Jane had told her to lay off on all the foursome requests, the conditions had been met she just needed Liara to think she was in control of this but it was fun to tease the maiden. Thea made a come motion to her and Aria willing joined her. “Did you enjoy yourself?” Thea asked.

Aria grinned, “She knows how to kiss and I am pretty sure if she wasn’t so afraid of hurting Liara, she would have been a lot more into it.”

“But you still mainly want to sleep with Liara?” Thea asked as she pulled her clothes back on and returned Liara’s robe.

Aria hesitated, “Actually… both equally intrigue me, what about you… want to see me being pinned by Jane?” she asked as she pulled her pants back on.

Thea nodded, “I should have recorded that, imagine the money we could get for it.” Together they went into the kitchen to see Jane pinning Liara to a bench and kissing her deeply. Aria touched Thea to initiate a shallow meld, _see the difference._

Thea nodded and tried to imagine Jane kissing her bondmate like that.

“So, breakfast?” Aria said interrupting the pair.

“Cereal okay,” Jane asked after she broke the kiss.

“Got loops?” Aria asked and Jane nodded. A whole bunch of food had been kept in cryo for them to use until they started to produce it themselves which they were starting to do.

Jane grabbed several boxes out, Crunchy Nut for herself, Fruit Loops for Aria and Weet-bix for Liara and Thea, she then went to get milk. This was actually a pretty common thing for them, having breakfast like this although It was not normal for them to have all just crawled out of the same bed.

Jane ducked back into her room to grab a pair of sweat pants, Liara had a robe on so she was fine. Jane came back just in time to smell coffee being brewed; it was one of their crops as was tea. Ra’yven had sectioned the large farming fields into large crops for grains, orchard crops with fruiting trees and bushes and small animal fields where they would grow some animals for food and for fertiliser. Eventually those crop fields would be visible to some of the housing blocks, there were also large areas where vertical crops where crops grown on vines, a tropical zone for plants that needed it, a multi-level hydroponic area and fields that were specifically for growing Dextro food for the Turians and Quarians.

Jane grabbed a coffee, her bowl of breakfast and moved to the balcony, her place over looked the commercial district although those awake had nicknamed the area the commons. At the moment it looked strange with all the weirdly stacked decks but there was part of a large park and what would become a lake and yes, there would be fish living in it, it would be purified before consumption and before it would be added back into the holding lake.

Glancing down she noticed Tali sitting on her balcony in a pair of shorts and a compression top, getting some synthetic sun on her pale skin. “Morning Tali!” Jane called, Tali waved and went straight back to dozing in her chair. Jane moved to sit at the bar set into the balustrade to eat her breakfast and drink her coffee.


	15. Chapter 15 ~ Arrival

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 15 ~ Arrival

Ra’yven hummed as she looked at the scans their forward probes had sent, she had thought it wise to have an accelerator built into the ship, it was mainly used for shooting probes but it could also be used as a weapon. She had asked a few days ago to shoot the probes since they were a month away and if they needed to adjust their course they could. The probes had also mapped their path letting them know of any dangers ahead of them, long before they became a danger.

Jane walked onto Defiance’s control deck and over to Ra’yven, she flicked the tip of Ra’yven’s ear, something she had learnt was a playful thing done between friends for her kind rather than annoying like it was for humans. “You wanted to see me?” Jane told her as she leant on the terminal.

“Yes.” Ra’yven told her as she finished compiling her data.

“Please tell me we aren’t lost.” Jane asked.

“We aren’t lost, in fact we do need a minor course correction but we aren’t that far off.” Ra’yven told her.

Jane nodded please.

“We do have a problem though,” Ra’yven added and Jane groaned. Ra’yven brought up an image one of the probes sent just before they were destroyed by it. The other probe had just managed to stop in time and was currently scanning it.

“What is that?” Jane asked.

“Scans say Dark Matter, but… it isn’t acting the way dark matter should.” Ra’yven explained with a frown.

“Can we get through that?” Jane asked.

“In theory… yes… I over engineered the shit out of Defiance, I thought we might hit sections of dark matter in dark space or any number of weird space phenomenon I could think of and several that were completely theoretical. I looked at the readings and careful studies done on Sovereign’s carcass, Reapers lived in Dark Space so, I assumed their bodies were built to handle weird, there were some awesome alloys and polymers that we used on the external hull and its insulation which should, in theory, protect the ship from that.”

“Okay… so… is there a problem?” Jane asked.

Ra’yven hummed for a moment, “Not for us, even the Normandy should be able to fly in that without problems, the Geth decided to use the same hull configuration… but for the Initiative? They are not as protected, if they flew into that… they would have suffered damage.”

“Enough to destroy them?” Jane asked but Ra’yven was shaking her head.

“No, do some serious damage though and I don’t know how extensive this is.” Ra’yven stated and Jane nodded. She turned to a list of experts, “We have an expert on Dark Matter on board, I would like to wake Dr Verner…”

“NO!” Jane exclaimed as a chill ran down her spine. “Who approved my creepy stalker super fan?” she demanded to know.

“Oh… he is THAT Verner…” Ra’yven remarked she had in fact been made aware of a person Jane hadn’t wanted to come with them and it was this person. She quickly checked the records, “um… he came in as an attached partner, to Jenna Verner, she will be working for Aria and Liara, Aria as a bartender, Liara as an informant when the club is opened to non-Defiance customers. Dr Verner was then assigned to the science and research division.”

“When are they due to wake?” Jane asked.

Ra’yven checked, “third wave. I wanted to wake them early but we can make do.”

Jane sighed, “Try to make do without him but if you must and I do mean absolutely must… we can wake him early but I want rules on him. Where is his housing block?”

Jane was in block one where most of her people and those who were in charge of the running of the station were housed, there were six housing blocks all together. “He is in block five and, he does not have work access to the areas you work in, and will have to make an appointment if he has a work-related matter. So, the only time you’ll have unsolicited contact is in the commons. Would you like me to make that permanent?”

“Please,” Jane told her, she did not need the problems he had created. “Also warn Aethyta the guy is here; she was really tempted to head butt him the last time she saw him. She might even bar him from After Life.”

Ra’yven was looking over Conrad’s records, “How does someone get a permanent galaxy wide ban from Armax Arena?” she asked herself as she clicked on the record attached to the ban, she went pale as she read, she then made a permanent note on his records forbidding him all access to weapons and to the Normandy, she also added a note not to allow him things that could be made combustible without strict supervision. “The guy is a genus… but… he’s also a menace.”

“Yeah… good intentions and all, guy even tried to take a bullet for me. But still… creepy stalker super fan, had a shrine and everything.” Jane explained.

“I will do my best with his research but… if this Dark Matter cloud is extensive, I would prefer for him to awaken sooner rather than later to investigate it thoroughly.” Ra’yven explained.

Jane nodded, “You are my science officer, I will respect your decision if you want to wake him. But if you do, please make sure Greethe is also awake to keep an eye on him.” Jane asked and Ra’yven nodded, Greethe was a retired STG and in charge of the science division of Defiance or at least he was second to Ra’yven but since she was going to be on the Normandy by default, he was in charge of the scientists here.

Jane shook her head as she walked away, “still can’t believe that man actually managed to land himself a live woman.” She remarked.

“They have a daughter,” Ra’yven added.

Jane paused, stuck her fingers in her ears, “Nope… did not just hear that.” She said as she left the room.

****

Jane set the scope of her new sniper riffle on the target, Garrus, Ashley and herself were testing the limits of one of the new styles of sniper riffle they had access to. The one in her hands was similar to an Indra but different, as a group they had made their way through every new, redesigned or updated weapon developed and reproduced here or in the Milky Way, including the prototype pathfinder weapons and many others.

Jane breathed gently as she lined up her last shot, once she was happy with her shot, she squeezed the trigger, a shot flew from the muzzle with only a little kickback. Keeping an eye on the target, a two-inch red square, she noticed the hole in the middle.

James whistled, having been made the judge of this which had turned into a friendly competition. “Five for five, dead centre, Lola wins.”

Garrus groaned, one of his shots was slightly to the left and two of Ashley’s had been slightly to the right. Jane grinned as she got up from her prone position, “Still a little too much kick back, this is a rapid-fire sniper, it should be more stable.”

Trix took the rifle from Jane before she could make it safe. “I’ll work on it.”

“Thanks, we only have a week left before we potentially go into a battle, we need our weapons to be ready.”

“Of course, Commander,” Trix said as she made the weapon safe and put it on the table. She then took Garrus’s and quickly took care of it before putting it down and finally Ashley’s.

“Need a hand with that?” Jane asked Trix who scoped up all three sniper rifles.

“No, I’ve got them,” Trix assured her before she walked off with the three large guns.

“That was fun,” Jane told the others as they left the shooting range.

Ashley and Garrus glared at her, “Not fair…” Garrus remarked, “What do you say we don’t include Jane’s score and decide the winner?” he asked.

“That means you win by a shot.” Ashley told him as she nodded.

“Oh, come on… Aria beat me…” Jane started to say.

“She cheated!” Ashley, Garrus and James said at the same time.

Jane paused; it was highly likely Aria had cheated as that was what she did. “Fine, from now onwards my scores don’t count. You will still spar with me right.”

“Yes!” the other three replied as one, happy that Jane’s shooting scores were not to be included when deciding a winner when they had shooting contests and Yes, they would continue to spar with her. Sometimes they got close to beating her and oh did they want to beat her, all of Team Normandy wanted to be the first to claim the win, ties didn’t count and they knew, sparring with Jane was making them better fighters.

“So… what are you doing now?” Ashley asked as they didn’t have set schedules.

“Jack is going to add to my ink. Then I am with Thea going over policy.” Jane told her.

Ashley grinned, “So what are you having done?”

“Adding a name to my list and Nhaimi and Ra’yven’s N7 numbers, I only just realised it didn’t have them.” Jane explained, she had been given permission to grant N7 ranks and training to people if she thought they deserved it although Hackett had made sure that Nhiami and Ra’yven had their numbers and training before they left.

“Yeah I got that done before we left. Still can’t believe they decided to change N7, so weird.” Ashley remarked. The Alliance had done away with what was once the N7s, as it didn’t seem like a fully inclusive program and they wanted to be inclusive. With that being said they decided to change N7 to A7 and changed how they worked and were graded. Unlike N7s who didn’t display any other number than 7, having an A designation of any number was a big thing and they were allowed to display that. Anyone in the allied forces could gain an A designation and once being given the A designation they went into training to get their ranking number.

However, getting a 7 designation was hard… very hard… only the best of the very best got 7. The handful of A7s they currently had firmly believed that the N7 rank was above them and they all aspired to be like Supreme Fleet Commander Shepard. Or at least that is what Jane had been told during one of her conferences with the Allied fleet command, which she was still technically in command of as the highest rank in the Allied Fleet was Supreme Fleet Commander, followed by Fleet Admiral who was the person Jane had been chatting to when they found out about A’s and her command status.

“Their choice,” Jane told her and Ashley nodded and considering so many N7s had left the milky way galaxy it made sense to make a more inclusive elite force.

“So… you’re adding a name to your list?” Garrus asked with a little frown.

“Yeah, Tommy Reece,” Jane stated.

Ashley frowned, “I don’t remember that name,” she stated.

“He was the kid I used to babysit. I watched Batarians melt him on Mindoir.” Jane explained. “I also supressed that memory so… yeah… Harbinger picked him from my mind and then killed him over and over again in my dreams during the war.” She continued, “I never want to forget him again.”

“You… working on that?” Garrus asked, Jane’s mental health was important as she was their driving force.

“Yeah… have been for months.” Jane told him and got nods.

“Have fun,” Ashley said as she and Garrus walked off and started arguing over which of the sniper rifles they had tested was better.

Jane walked down several hallways, a lift and through a security station just to get out of the security and military section where they had been. It was then simple to get to the commons and to the professional tattoo parlour that Jack would work at when she was on base but for the most part it would be manned by a couple of human artists and as well as a couple of Asari artists they had poached from Omega.

Tali was sitting in a chair getting her real N7 tattoo now that they had found inks that would work for Quarians. She winced as the needle coloured in her N, the Asari was carefully doing the ink, mindful of the fact that this was Tali’s first bit of Ink. In theory Jack would be doing Tali’s ink but the Asari had asked to do it and since she had done Jane’s on Omega, Jack was confident she wouldn’t stuff it up.

Jack was ready and waiting for Jane, Jane took off her hoodie and then her shirt before she sat. “Numbers first, you’re like the fourth person today who didn’t have Nhiami and Ra’yven’s numbers on them.”

Jane nodded and turned so that her right side was up and then lifted her arm out of the way. Jack scooted forward with one of her tools, the others were being cleaned and sterilised for their next use.

*

Jane carried a box into Thea and Aria’s apartment, a second box followed behind her held up by a sphere. She had noticed them placed outside their door so scooped one up and pressed the call button with her elbow as she used a sphere to lift the other. She was expected as she was going to talk to Thea about diplomatic policy or at least what policies they were going to follow.

“What do you have there?” Thea asked when she noticed Jane walking forward with the boxes.

“Probably uniforms,” Jane told her as she put down the two boxes.

“Urg… do I actually have to wear that,” Aria complained from the couch.

Thea handed Jane a coffee and then turned her attention to the boxes, she opened the one with Aria’s N7 number on it and smiled. Glancing to her bondmate she reached in and pulled out a leather jacket with Alpha and Omega symbols twined together on the back, on the front over the heart was Defiance and its symbol. Then tossed it to her bondmate, leather pants, high heeled boots, corset… essentially Aria’s normal clothes and in her normal colours. Aria looked at the jacket and grinned, “Okay… it’s not the Omega symbol I am used to… but I can wear this.”

Thea dug and pulled out a different leather jacket in black with a stripe of white and red on the arms, the back was free of adornment but on the front right was N7, her number and her name, a Battle of London mission badge was embordered into the left upper arm and a Normandy SRV 5 Team badge was on the right.

Thea tossed it to Aria, Aria held it up, she had N7 sweats and workout clothes which is what she thought she would wear on the Normandy, she had not expected a proper uniform although she knew this was a custom uniform just for her. “If I must…” she said with a drawl already seeing the possibilities of using this in scenarios with her bond mate.

“Like I would make you wear something you would hate.” Jane told her. “But be careful I think you only have three sets of each, at least until we can get what passes for leather in Heleus.”

“Oh… I have one too?” Thea asked as she opened the box with her name on it, there were a couple of elegant dresses and pant suits with Defiance symbols on it.

“So, uniforms for when you are working, causal clothes for when you are not.” Jane explained and Thea nodded that made sense it would also help remind people when they were off duty that they were, off duty.

“How does that work with Geth?” Thea asked.

“Oh, they have badges that they attach when they are working and remove when they aren’t.” Jane explained and Thea nodded that made sense.

Jane sat as Aria moved the boxes to their room, she already had a bag ready with gear for the Normandy and added two of the Normandy uniforms to that bag.

“Okay policy,” Thea stated and Jane nodded.

“I want to hash out a few types of policies and then once I’ve spoken to Alec we can chose and refine one.” Jane explained and Thea nodded, they intended to be friendly with the Initiative and races of Heleus but at the same time they had to decide how far they could take that friendliness and how open they would be. Miranda had already warned them that Cerberus had a hand in Initiative business so they had to be careful at least until they figured out how deep it went into the core leadership.

“Have you figured out how you are going to convince Alec?” Thea asked.

Jane nodded, “I’m going to tell them the whole story, start to finish. I might even tell a more condensed version to everyone else, broadcasted live, uninterrupted, uncensored, I will not hide our mission nor will I let Jien Garson hide our mission.”

Thea nodded, if the galaxy had been made aware of everything the council knew about Reapers before the invasion… no… even then they still would not have been able to prepare for what the Reapers did.

Thea handed Jane a pad, “These are some of the ideas I’ve come up with.”

“Good because I have no idea.” Jane told her relieved.

“Well I am a trained politician while you are a trained soldier.” Thea reminded her.

Jane started to read.

Aria came out dressed in her Normandy uniform, “Nice fit.” She said drawing their attention, even the fact that Aria’s tags sat slightly nestled in her cleavage added to her look.

Thea’s throat suddenly went very dry as she looked over her bondmate in her uniform, she could feel herself getting wet. Jane glanced between the pair and stood, “I will go read this at home and leave you to it.” She said before she left the apartment and went back to her own.

Two boxes were stacked next to the wall, Jane lifted one box and again used her sphere for the other before letting herself in. Liara was in the middle of unpacking the last of their boxes and groaned when she saw Jane with more. “I thought we had them all already.” She complained.

“Uniforms.” Jane explained as she put the boxes down.

“Also… aren’t you meant to be with Thea…” Liara asked as she stepped over a Prothean artifact to greet Jane.

“Yeah… they also got their uniforms and Aria decided to give her bondmate a look at her in her Normandy Uniform. I decided it would be best for me to leave because Thea was giving Aria please fuck me eyes.” Jane explained after she kissed Liara. “Need a hand?”

Liara nodded, “Yeah, this is going on that wall.” She explained as she pointed to a carving then the wall.

Jane lifted the priceless ancient relic and carefully held it where Liara wanted it. Liara spent several minutes adjusting the mounts and when it was ready Jane stepped back and let Liara encase it protective glass. Beside it was a section of Jane’s armour, peeled from her body before it was handed to Cerberus.

“I don’t know why you kept this,” Jane said as she touched the case that protected it, she also knew that this had been replicated for a museum piece. A few exhibits down was a perfectly replicated section of Legion’s chest, including the patch of her armour he had used, a gift from Glitch. Legion’s real body had been entombed much to Glitch’s wonder as the Quarians had insisted and made a huge monument including a statue of Legion and what he had done.

“You kept your helmet.” Liara reminded her.

“True,” Jane answered as she moved over to see other pieces which had been hung on their walls or stood against them. “How did you manage to get so many ancient relics released to come with us?”

“I owned them,” Liara explained, “they also had scans and all my research so they had no reason to ask me to leave them.” she went to another box and pulled out a handful of books, actual books, that belonged to Jane. Some were slightly battered original texts, others were reprints, the box was full of them, they all went to waiting shelves with heavy book ends to keep them from toppling over. Jane scooped up tissue paper which had been used to pack the relics and stuffed them into empty boxes which she then moved out of the way.

Jane went to one of the few boxes with stuff still in it. “Seriously I thought we had reduced the number of things we had.”

Liara laughed, “We had, but we still couldn’t get rid of everything.”

Jane put a picture of Benezia on a shelf next to other pictures, a young Liara with her mother, a larger photo of her and Liara at their wedding and a cute photo of Liara with her father posing awkwardly together. A young Jane with her parents, another of her, Sara and Scott and a group shot of her, the twins, Alec and Ellen. Then there was a group shot of the Normandy Team the night of her party on the citadel, another beside it was another group shot of them during the Thessia party as well as some candid shots of their friends.

“Don’t you have something to do?” Liara asked.

“Yeah, I should read the policies Thea has come up with.” Jane said as she moved away from the boxes leaving Liara to finish unpacking, she tidied the boxes and made a request for the empty packing boxes to be collected and recycled. While Jane read Liara took the two boxes to their room and unpacked it as well to get rid of those boxes at the same time.

Jane heard a throat get cleared so she glanced up to see Liara in her Normandy uniform, it wasn’t what Jane considered a traditional uniform, but the Normandy was not a traditional ship so the uniform styles reflected that. It was similar to what she had worn during the war only this time it was in N7 colours as those were the colours chosen for their uniform colours while Defiance’s colours were mainly blue, black and grey.

“How does it look?” Liara asked.

Jane let her eyes roam over her beloved, “I do love seeing you in a lab coat, I also love peeling you out of it and you know that.” She told her and Liara gave Jane a suggestive grin. Jane put down her pad, sure that Thea would forgive her for indulging considering she was probably doing the same at this moment.

Jane stood and started to stalk Liara back upstairs to their room Liara did her best to maintain the distance but Jane somehow seemed to close it. Liara placed a hand on her chest and Jane paused. “Yours is in the bathroom, put it on for me.” Liara told her.

Jane smiled and nodded with a chuckle, “got a thing for a woman in uniform huh.”

Liara bit her bottom lip, “big time.”

Jane walked off to their bathroom and noticed the neatly folded clothes. In moments she was down to her underwear and tossed her used clothes in the auto-wash. Jane shifted through the clothes looking for her undershirt and found her strapless dildo, “so… we are going that way.”

It took a few moments but Jane had placed the toy and tucked it into her underwear, it was a tight fit, in fact she had other underwear for such scenarios. Her undershirt, a black tank top was next, then socks, she then pulled on her pants, nice black cargo pants with lots of deep pockets. Reaching for her overshirt, also black with a white and red stripe along the top of her shoulders and down each arm. Mission badges for Battle of the Citadel, Omega 4 Run and Battle of London each with Normandy Team under it to show where she was placed in each battle, sat on her left upper arm. Her abbreviated rank SFC and her last name Shepard was embroidered on her left chest with her N7 designation and number and her current mission badge, Normandy SRV 5 Team, sat on her right upper arm.

Doing the buttons up she then tucked in her shirt and then did up her pants, she didn’t bother with the boots but she did thread the belt through the loops but didn’t bother to do it up. She then spent long moments rolling the sleeves up to above her elbow and buttoned them in place. She flushed the toilet even though she didn’t use it, mainly to help set up the mood.

Jane walked out of the bathroom after washing her hands. She walked over to Liara who was busy looking at a pad, Jane moved and took Liara’s pad from her and tossed it to a chair. Liara turned to Jane and even took a step back to get a better look, Jane looked hot in a suit and the same during the rare times she wore a dress. However, Liara personally believed Jane looked the hottest in uniform.

“Dr T’Soni, you wanted to see me?” Jane asked as she closed the distance between them, the words Liara wanted to say were caught in her throat. Jane corralled Liara until her behind hit a small desk in the room. “I am a busy woman,” she told Liara. “Or did you call because you wanted something else?” Jane asked as she pressed the bulge in her pants against Liara.

Liara let out a whimper when Jane pulled back a little and only just managed to keep back a startled cry when Jane turned her around and pinned her to the desk. Rubbing the bulge into Liara’s arse as she latched onto Liara’s neck and bit down on the taut muscle there. One of her hands only just managed to slide into Liara’s pants as another groped her breast, her hips kept Liara pinned, she released her bite then kissed the abused flesh to soothe it. “Dr T’Soni… you’re wet.” Jane said into her ear as her fingers found her sex and the moistness that was waiting for her.

“Yes,” Liara replied.

Jane paused her hands, “Yes…” she said in leading manner with a little bit of disapproval in her voice.

“Yes Commander… you make me wet…” Liara replied a little desperate for Jane’s hands to move again.

Jane started to move her hands again, “That’s right.” Using a foot Jane nudged Liara’s legs further open to give her better access. After a minute of playing with Liara’s sex Jane removed her fingers and quickly popped them into her mouth. She hummed as she tasted the addictive fluids of her bondmate, once she had removed the taste both her hands moved to Liara’s pants, undid them and pushed them down to her knees.

Liara panted but made no move to stop or change what Jane was doing. With quick motions Jane undid her own pants and pushed down her underwear to release the engorged toy which had started to become a little painful in its confines. Jane’s left arm held Liara’s hips still as her right hand pushed aside Liara’s underwear and guided the erect toy. After rubbing the head in Liara’s folds a couple of times Jane positioned herself and then thrust powerfully into Liara’s body.

Liara called out in both pleasure and pain, Jane paused for a moment but Liara didn’t use her safe word, using her left arm Jane forced Liara down onto the desk and started to thrust powerfully into her bondmate’s body. Liara grunted as her body took the almost brutal thrusts, she knew that if she said her safe word Jane would stop but, her body quickly adjusted to the pounding and she started to groan and lift her hips to meet Jane’s thrusts.

“Is this why you wanted to see me,” Jane asked as she held herself deeply in Liara’s body.

“Yes… please Commander…” Liara breathed out in a needy tone.

“Please what?” Jane demanded to know.

“Fuck me… Commander.” Liara begged.

“Fine… but you can’t cum until I order you to…” Jane told her before she started to thrust again. Liara’s eyes went wide when she realised what Jane had said, they were already darkened ready to meld with Jane, she closed her eyes and panted.

Jane felt herself get close to climax; she didn’t stop or slow down, she just kept fucking her bondmate with vigour until she came, she pressed herself deeply as her own fluid shot into Liara’s body. Liara let out a strangled cry of need as she felt Jane climax but was unable to cum herself.

“Good…” Jane said once she got her breath back, she was however still rock hard, the way she made love had changed over the years, she felt a little like the energiser bunny, she could just keep going and going and going and going.

Jane hooked her right arm around Liara’s hips and moved her underwear further aside so that she could rub against Liara’s clit as she started to thrust again. Liara started to become more vocal, groaning and whimpering with every thrust just when she thought she might go mad Jane pulled out completely. Completely disorientated she didn’t notice Jane removing her pants all together and then her underwear as it done so quickly. After propping Liara’s right leg up on the desk Jane slammed back into Liara’s warmth and started to move again, powerfully pounding into Liara’s body.

“Please… Commander… please…” Liara begged, she knew Jane was close to climax, she could feel it.

“Please what?” Jane demanded to know.

“Please let me cum Commander.” Liara begged as she clawed at the desk.

Jane made sure her hands were against bare skin, enough contact to allow the meld. “Fine… but I’m not done with you.” She told her and suddenly Liara was in her mind, feeding her own over stimulated mind into Jane’s. A few more thrusts and both came powerfully. They rode out their orgasm together, Jane stepped back and took a deep breath as she took another step back. Slowly Liara got up and turned to Jane who was incredibly still hard and seemed to want more. Liara knelt and shuffled forward but Jane took another step back and gave her a firm look, the scenario was not finished.

Jane started to unbutton her shirt, as she watched Liara lick her lips, wanting to wrap her lips around the full shaft. “No… I’m not finished with you pussy yet.” She told Liara as she slid her shirt off and tossed it aside, her undershirt and compression bra quickly followed. “Get my pants… but don’t touch.”

Liara nodded and shuffled closer to help get Jane out of her pants, underwear and socks, Jane caught her jaw just after she licked off the bead of liquid that had pooled at the tip of her cock. “Wow… disobeying orders… you’ll regret doing that.” Jane told her as she moved onto the bed and sat with her back against the headboard. “Strip then come here and sit.” She ordered.

Liara didn’t take her time, she was out of her clothes, on their bed and positioned above Jane in just under a minute. Jane grabbed Liara’s hips and firmly guided her down on her shaft, Liara groaned when Jane bottomed out inside her, she went to start moving but Jane’s grip was bruising and had complete control. “Stay still,” Jane ordered.

Leaning forward Jane sucked a nipple into her mouth and started to play with it, Liara clenched down on her. Jane released her and pushed her down onto her back, “I said don’t move, I don’t appreciate insubordination, I told you you’ll regret it…”

Jane shifted her body until she was back between Liara’s legs, grabbing Liara’s hips she lifted her just enough to slide back in, her cock pressed up against the Asari’s version of a g-spot. Jane started to rock her hips, pressing her cock to that super sensitive spot on each and every thrust.

Liara’s panted and started to make all kinds of sounds as Jane kept grinding and pumping into Liara’s body for long minutes. “Please, please let me…”

“I can’t hear you,” Jane told her firmly as she continued to move, even speeding her thrusts a little and even pausing, pressing hard against that spot at random intervals.

Liara turned eyes, black with need to Jane, “Please Commander… please let me cum… ma’am.” She begged as her body tensed, wanting, needing the release.

“No… not yet.” Jane told her as she kept moving until she came for a third time with a groan, she pressed hard to that spongy spot and shot her juice directly against it until her climax had ended. Liara let out a cry, part disappointment, part need, her whole body started to quaking but still Jane kept her from coming.

“Please… ma’am.” Liara begged.

Jane reached forward with one hand and fisted Liara’s tags to tug on them as she started to move again as Liara started to shake her head, tears at her eyes. Jane grinned, she didn’t need to ready to cum, she could ride off Liara’s climax but she wanted to try something Samara had been teaching her. “Okay…” she told Liara and Liara rushed into Jane’s mind, needing to cum only Jane’s mind was still, she had nothing to feed from, to add to. She clawed at the sheets as Jane continued to move.

“What… please…” Liara said aloud searching the calm for the brightness that was her love, her biotics rippled over her body, adding to her over stimulation.

Jane held Liara there in that weird spot just before climax for a good minute before Jane finally released her calm mind.

Liara’s need and want was met by Jane’s, her whole body arched as her climax crashed violently through them both.

Jane came back to her senses a lot sooner than Liara did although her hips had never stopped their motions, slowly she finally stopped moving. Liara twitched and shuddered as her multiple climaxes continued to roll through her. “Fuck,” Liara breathed as Jane finally released her grip on Liara’s tags, she had come twice in very quick procession, that had never happened before.

Jane chuckled, “I believe we just did that,” she told Liara as she leant over her love and kissed her gently which she responded to.

Jane pulled herself away, she removed the toy and sat it against the bed then went and got a towel, even as her own legs felt a little like jelly, kneeling on the bed she lifted Liara’s hips and slid the towel beneath her. They would still have to change the bedding but this should stop the wet spot on the mattress getting bigger. Once that was done Jane settled next to Liara on her side so she could watch her beloved as her body still gave a little twitch ever now and again.

Liara lifted an arm and placed it to her forehead, Jane leant in and kissed her shoulder. “So… did you enjoy yourself?”

Liara gave a broken laugh, “By the goddess.” She told Jane and hit her gently.

Jane leant in close to Liara’s ear as she focused and turned the cloaking off three spheres which had been recording them, “why did you record that?” Jane asked gently as she ordered the sphere’s back to their charging docks and to stop recording, the three spheres left them alone.

Liara groaned, “You noticed?”

Jane nodded, of course she noticed, she could even sense Kasumi if she got too close when cloaked and that was before Kasumi got bots. It was why Jane had changed some of Liara’s positions, to give the recording spheres better views.

“I was going to send it to Aria, to tease her.” Liara started to explain, “Only after I got your permission that is.”

“Was?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, but… you met and went above anything I had thought of.” Liara explained, “She would get way too much of a kick from it.”

“This is Aria… so cheat… and that is the only advice I will give you; I am not getting involved in your mini war with her.” Jane told her as she settled down to nap.

“It’s not a war…” Liara defended.

“You know, if you just give in and give her what she wants she might… and I do mean might lay off all the sexual teasing and leave us both alone.” Jane told her.

Liara frowned, “you’ve resigned yourself to it.”

Jane kissed her, “Yes and no…” she told her love, “Yes because Aria is Aria and she always gets what she wants. No because you seem so against sharing me.” She explained and decided to give Liara a little push. “You aren’t even curious… haven’t secretly imagined me and Aria together?”

Liara blushed, she didn’t confirm or deny which caused Jane to grin. Jane kissed her skin before she closed her eyes, leaving Liara to think about what she said and come up with her plan alone.

*

Jane sat on her couch the next afternoon, she was adding notes to Thea’s policies and would send them off so that Thea could go over it.

Liara sat next to her with a cup of herbal tea and one of Jane’s ‘books’ she had grabbed the first of many volumes a few days ago, only to not understand a thing until Jane told her it was a Manga and that it was read the opposite way she was used to. She was reading it and it was a fun read but it still made little sense to her as she moved to volume 2 but Jane said that was normal, One Piece was known for its shenanigans.

There was a beep on their door, Liara checked who it was and grinned but didn’t open the door she just focused on her book. There was another beep, Jane checked her tool and gave her bondmate a little glare before she hit the open button to open the door. A few moments later a frustrated Aria was before them and followed by a slightly perplexed Thea.

“Give it back!” Aria demanded, she seemed furious and she focused that on Liara.

“Give what back?” Liara asked innocently.

Jane glanced between the two Asari and even turned to Thea who shrugged, she didn’t know what Aria was going on about, she had tried to calm her bondmate down but Aria was having none of it.

“The vid you sent,” Aria explained, “You sent this awesome vid and it self-deleted.”

Liara nodded, her eyes not leaving the book as she turned the page, “After two plays.”

“Come on…” Aria exclaimed, “It was hot…”

“What vid?” Thea asked. Jane snorted as she realised Thea was completely unaware and now Liara had ammunition.

Liara put down her book although she was careful about keeping a finger between the pages to mark where she was. “You didn’t share?” she questioned and Aria suddenly realised she had slipped up. Liara had sent her edited vid deliberately when Thea was busy, she was sure Aria wouldn’t have been able to resist watching it and re-watching parts of it which would trigger the self-destruct, after all, Liara had spent a decent amount of time editing the feeds.

“Seriously…” Aria asked her, “You sent that! How could I have not watched it and then re-watch the really good parts. I’ve watched a lot of porn… that was better.”

Thea gave Jane a confused look, what had Liara sent her bondmate. Jane just gave her a slightly goofy grin.

“That good huh?” Jane asked.

Aria sighed, “Yes… PS… what did you do?” she asked in reference to the last climax.

Jane grinned, “my secret.”

Aria glared at her a little, “I will figure it out.”

Thea finally understood what they were going on about. “You sent a sex vid you guys made.”

Liara turned to Thea, “yes… I thought it fair considering Aria sent me a vid.”

“Years ago… and you still have it!” Aria complained.

Liara shrugged, not denying she still had that unsolicited vid Aria had sent of her taking Thea on her desk during the war. “Not my fault you didn’t put a self-destruct in.”

“At least let Thea watch it, I am sure you let Jane watch that vid,” Aria demanded.

Jane blushed, she had in fact seen that vid, more than once.

Liara reached forward to grab her book mark, once she had safe guarded her place, she put the book down, so far this had pretty much gone as she had expected so she was already prepared but they didn’t need to know this. She typed for several moments as she finished the last of the coding to protect the vid. Once that was done, she sent it to Thea. “Before you get too excited, I have locked it to Thea, if you try to copy it, or play it without her, it will self-destruct again.” She warned before she intwined her fingers and rested them against her stomach as she crossed her legs.

Aria didn’t care she scooped Thea up onto her shoulder and walked off with a wave. Jane waited until the sound of the door shutting just reached her ears. “Pleased with yourself?” Jane asked.

Liara grinned as she reached for her book, “Oh yes… and when her lust is finally sated… she will retaliate.”

“You do realise, you’ve probably gotten her more interested in her foursome?” Jane asked.

Liara glared a little, “She kissed you… twice… I… had to… do… something…”

Jane shrugged before she smiled, “so… did you enjoy that?”

“Immensely,” Liara remarked before she scooped up her book to continue reading.

****

Jane walked onto the command deck of Defiance the next day she walked over to greet Thea who blushed deeply the moment Jane came to stand beside her. After leaving Jane and Liara’s quarters they had returned to their own and Aria had made her watch the vid on the largest screen they owned which was in their living room. It was the hottest amateur vid Thea had ever watched and just like Aria she was curious about what Jane had done to Liara at the end. Aria had then gone on to recreate some of the things they had watched.

“So… did you enjoy the vid?” Jane asked with a teasing grin as she could clearly see new hickies on Thea’s neck.

Thea’s blush deepened. “It was… so…” she paused as other people started to walk in, she tried to school her blush. Jeff took a seat next to a Geth pilot as Edi took a seat at a science station, Ra’yven was already at her station and waiting. Samantha took her spot at a communications terminal.

Jane moved off giving Thea time to control herself. “Okay… how long until we hit the… what are calling it?”

“Dark Matter Cloud,” Ra’yven told her.

Jane sighed, “Seriously… no cool nick name… fine… how long until we contact the Dark Matter Cloud?” Jane asked.

“Ten minutes but we should see it in 5,” the Geth beside Jeff said.

Jane nodded, “Edi, Ra’yven, Samantha since we are getting so close, get some good scans of this for the researchers.” The three woman nodded although most of the work would be done by Samantha and Edi as Ra’yven would be monitoring the ship.

Jane walked over to Samantha, “I need to warn everyone,” Jane told her and Samantha pointed to a button.

“Ship wide coms,” she explained.

Jane pressed the button, “All hands, this is Commander Shepard, soon we will be in the Heleus cluster, but before that, we have to go through a weird space anomaly. It shouldn’t hurt us, but to be safe, I am ordering everyone to sit and brace for impact.”

Everyone on the command deck moved to seats, Jane sat in a chair that could be considered the captain’s chair. Thea sat in the chair beside her as others took seats along the wall.

“So… what did you think of my suggestions on the potential polices.” Jane asked.

“Good, informed actually,” Thea replied grateful Jane wasn’t talking about the vid for the moment.

“I was the human councillor for a decade, I did learn a few things.” Jane reminded her.

Thea chuckled, her last ten years as the Asari Councillor had been more pivotal then all the years before that because they had made some large policy changes for council space, for the allied council, it was satisfying to leave after all that had been accomplished and she hoped to continue that good work here. Jane and Bakara had changed a lot of set thinking, had influenced her to be a lot more flexible with ideas and to stand up for herself more with the Matriarch council.

Jane watched the large view screen as the cloud slowly became visible and slowly started to grown. “Shit Ra’yven, it’s huge.”

Ra’yven nodded, “And a lot more extensive than I thought… it also seems… fixed. I believe I may have to wake Dr Verner earlier than you wanted.”

“How can he research that?” Jane asked and Ra’yven shrugged. “Keep him asleep for now, once we’ve spoken with Alec we’ll reconsider.” Jane stated.

Ra’yven nodded, it seemed like a decent plan. “Contact… in two minutes.”

“There is a button on your left arm rest, ship wide comms,” Samantha called before Jane could ask.

“Thanks,” Jane replied as she pressed the indicated button on her chair, “All hands, two-minute warning.” She released the button. “So… the vid?” Jane asked, teasing Thea a little.

Thea’s blush returned, she glanced around but they were essentially alone. “I understand my bond mate’s frustration when it vanished and her fascination with that last move.” She explained. “Trust me when I say this… Aria is going to get her back.”

“Her?” Jane asked innocently.

Thea chuckled, “Aria knows it wasn’t you, it was Liara.” They watched as the cloud started to slowly grow larger. “It’s just reinforced her want, but she is now divided between topping you and being topped by you.”

Jane grinned, “she just wants to steal that last move.”

Thea nodded a little daunted by the thought of Aria adding it to her bag of tricks to sexually torture her with, “please make it hard for her to steal.”

Jane nodded in response, “it is, I haven’t even completely mastered it. But I promised Liara to only use it when she is really needy.” Thea sighed in relief but she knew her bond mate will eventually steal it.

The Geth touched a button, “All hands… final warning… prepare for impact…” it warned, “Impact in… ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one…” the whole ship started to shake as it impacted the weird energy cloud. Several were knocked from their seats as the ship groaned and bounced in the cloud.

“There, see that?” Jeff asked his co-pilot as he indicated with his head, not once did his hands stop moving, helping to control the ship as it was jerked and pushed by the cloud which lit up like lightening.

“Yes…” the geth answered and together they changed the direction of the ship, skirting along it instead of trying to punch through, to an opening in the cloud.

Jane didn’t interrupt or break their focus with needless orders, she let her people do what they did best without her interference. Ra’yven was tapping away at her terminal, fixing and working on keeping the power stable as well as monitoring the seals and locks of the outer hull, making sure there were no fails.

Gravity was lost for about ten seconds, people slowly started to float, before it slammed back on and everyone returned to their seats, “Ra’yven?”

“Sorry… shields kicked in, the ship thought it hit something more solid then it actually did, it drew power away from essentials. I fixed it; it will not happen again.” Ra’yven explained a little grumpy that it had happened in the first place.

Jane nodded, the bucking of the ship lessened as Jeff and the geth guided them.

“We’ll be out in… five… four… three… two… one…” the geth counted down and finally the ship stopped shuddering and groaning. He waited several moments before he hit the ship wide coms button. “Ladies, gentlemen and all sexual identities in between, I welcome you to the Heleus Cluster. On behalf of Defiance Command and the entire Geth crew we would like to apologise for the bumpy arrival. It’s not the Commander’s fault, it’s not the pilot or co-pilot’s fault, it was the giant clouds fault. For your safety and comfort please remain seated with your seat belts securely fastened until the Commander turns off the fasten seat belt sign. Again, I would like to thank you for choosing to fly Defiance on this exceedingly long flight and we hope that we never get to do this again.” He released the button and all the humans started to laugh and clap, even Thea laughed having watched a few human vids which included such announcements.

Jane stood and walked over to the Geth, “That was epic.” She said as she placed a hand on the Geth’s shoulder.

“I watched it on human vids during the trip, I thought it would be… funny.”

“Oh, it was and it was just what we needed after that bumpy entrance.” Jane told him she pressed the same button he had. “Alright everyone please consider this me turning off the fasten seat belt sign, all emergency teams please do a thorough check of your sections and report to command any damage you find.” She ordered before she let go of the button.

“What’s your name?” she asked, she wanted to remember it.

“Charon,” he answered.

Jane frowned; someone had named a Geth that. “Charon, as in… ferryman of the underworld?” she asked and got a nod. Geth tended to let the organic creatures around them give them names, it was why some Geth had some truly odd names like Glitch, Moose, Goose and Quokka, but it also meant they had stories to go with their names and some of them were quite hilarious, while others weren’t.

“See… my body is smaller than most Geth. So, I was asked to help retrieve bodies from confined spaces after the war. One day I was carrying a body out of a collapsed structure and a woman was there, it was her son whose body was in my arms. I stopped so that she could pay her respects before putting him in a body bag. She opened his mouth and put a coin in it then said, now Charon can take him. I put his body away then went back to the woman, I asked her why she called me Charon. She told me I had misheard; she was talking about the person who ferried the dead to the afterlife. She then paused, no you are Charon because you help ferry people to the afterlife and I have been Charon since.”

Jane nodded, “a noble job you did, and thank you for ferrying us safely through dark space.”

Charon sat a little straighter, “it was a pleasure…”

Jane clapped him on the shoulder and walked over to Ra’yven who was frowning at her terminal. “How did we do?”

Ra’yven turned to Jane, “The hull seals and locks held, sensors aren’t reading damage but… that Dark Matter cloud… could be screwing with our sensors, which is why I organised teams to do inspections.” She explained. “I also fixed the command string which redirected power from gravity to shields so that shouldn’t happen again.” She added.

“Keep me abreast please of any damage.” Jane asked before she turned to Samantha, “Hey how is our link to the Milky Way?” she asked.

“Stable but I want to run some tests just to be sure.” Samantha answered, “the data we got from impacting the cloud, it’s going to take months to go over it.” She added.

Jane nodded, that meant months of Conrad being too busy to get underfoot. Jane walked over to Edi, “I found debris in the cloud.” Edi told her.

“Enough for an ark?” Jane asked suddenly concerned.

“No… it came from an ark though.” Edi told her, “but they definitely managed to limp away from it.”

Jane nodded relieved, “Charon, Joker… where are we?” she asked.

“Right where we are meant to be…” Jeff told her.

“That is Habitat 7,” Charon added.

Jane studied the scans of the planet before them. “Well shit… that planet does not look like it can support life.”

“Let me send some probes,” Ra’yven said but she didn’t wait for permission she just sent them, Jane had told her that she didn’t need to be asked to do her job unless it was something big. They watched the readings the probes sent and even the footage.

“Fuck me… that mountain is floating…” Jeff breathed.

“Check out the alien tech,” Ra’yven remarked, already she wanted to go study it but a few moments later both probes were destroyed. “It seems like the planet is being traditionally terraformed but at the moment, it is uninhabitable.” Silently she hoped that other planets had the alien tech so that she could study it, learn from it, that she got to meet the builders of it.

Jane nodded as Ra’yven replayed footage of the landscape. “No… this is good, great in fact. Instead of coming in with a bang we’ve snuck in, now we can control the narrative.”

“So… habitat 7 being a bust is a good thing.” Jeff asked.

“Very… Joker, Charon, Edi… find us a place to hide, preferably near or in that, use shuttles if you need to.” She said as she pointed to the dark matter cloud.

“It will hide us from scanners,” a Salarian remarked.

Thea walked over to Jane, “Please tell me you have a plan for this.”

Jane grinned, “I’ve had three months to plan, and I have a plan for this. In fact… I’m ecstatic it’s happened this way because now, I can talk to Alec without interference, get his feelings of how the Nexus will react to what we are about to tell them.” She walked them over to Samantha. “I am going to need a beacon that can self-destruct.” She called.

Tali jumped to her feet, “ME!” she said, “give me an hour and I will have one which will make a nice light show.” She ran off.

Jane grinned as she brought up what she had already prepared. “Samantha when Tali comes back, I need you to initiated this.” She handed a pad to Samantha.

Samantha read the protocol and the code that would go with it. “Huh… I don’t recognise the code.”

Jane grinned, “It is a deep cover, covert N7 to N7 code.” She explained. “You can try to crack it if you want.”

Samantha frowned as she studied it for a few moments, “I feel that I am missing something very important to decode this.”

“Two things… but yes… without knowledge of N7 coding you will find that very hard to crack.” Jane explained. She stepped away from the terminal, “Okay people, we have time now to prepare for what Heleus is going to throw at us. Let’s get to work.”


	16. Chapter 16 ~ The young Pathfinder

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 16 ~ The young Pathfinder.

Sara rubbed her forehead as she finally left Tann’s office, she found the Salarian to be exactly what she expected a driven politician to be, slimy and she wanted to restrict her association as much as she could. Only there was an edge of contained fury in his words at her, after all she had chosen Moshae Sjefa over him as ambassador. However, he could do nothing as she was THE Pathfinder, she had after all been behind the success of the Initiative, he couldn’t just fire her.

Sara got into the lift and was pleased it was empty, she didn’t think she could deal with either adoring fans or job applications. She really did need to fill Liam’s position now that he was building a version of HUSTLE with the Angara and the outposts. She flopped into a chair and just let the lift take her, her current mission was a bunch of drop offs, the other Pathfinders were moving to planets and settlements until ships were available as well as taking the Moshae back to Aya. Then she was back to business as usual, she was thinking of checking out the area around Meridian Sphere a little more thoroughly and do some scourge mapping.

Sara got out of the lift and stepped into the docking area. _Sara_ , Sam said using his private link.

Sara paused and stepped out of the way, “Yes Sam?” she said gently, the private link was still somewhat of secret.

 _Dr Aridana would like to speak with us. It seems urgent._ He told her.

Sara groaned, “So close… so very close.” She complained before she went up the ramp and to the tech labs. She connected to the Tempest. “Kallo is everyone on board?” she asked.

“Yes Ryder, ready and waiting. How is your head?” He asked, knowing that Tann had a tendency to give Sara headaches, more so lately.

“I will be better once I get back to the Tempest. I’ll be there soon, please make sure the Moshae is comfortable and Drack isn’t eating our pyjack. I have to stop by the tech labs, Dr Aridana needs to speak with me.”

“I’ll let the others know.” Kallo replied.

“Thanks, Kallo but be ready for a speedy escape.” She told him before she signed off just as she got to the labs. She walked through the lab, side stepping Herik, nodding hello to Lucan and to the Asari Doctor who had sent the request. “Dr Aridana,” she said gently, trying not to startle the engrossed doctor, it didn’t work, the Dr still jumped in shock.

“Pathfinder,” she greeted once she had calmed down.

“You wanted to see me?” Sara asked, she was beginning to hate being referred to as Pathfinder and for a while there; some Angara had firmly believed that her name was Pathfinder instead of it being Sara.

“Yes, we found this signal, we are pretty sure it is a code but it is like no code I’ve seen before.” Dr Aridana explained as they moved to a different terminal.

“Not another Firefighter code?” Sara asked seriously.

Dr Aridana blushed a little in embarrassment since she had nearly badly hurt Sara and Sam, “Again I am sorry for that, as for this code, there isn’t enough data in it to be like the firefighters. Just enough to be a message, I think.” She explained as she brought up the signal.

Sara watched it for several moments, it took her a moment longer to realise why it felt like she recognised it. Then her mind screeched to a halt.

 _Sara?_ Sam ask concerned.

“Hey, I have a ship waiting full of people, can I take a copy of that, Sam and I can work on it together, heck we are even swinging by Meridian Sphere, if we need the extra power of Sam node.” Sara said as she took a copy.

“Of course, please let me know if you manage to crack it.” Dr Aridana told her as she turned to leave. “Thank you for stopping by.”

Sara nodded and left, she didn’t bother to take the ramp, she just jumped over the rail and landed before the dock the Tempest was birthed at, startling the security officer who was guarding the door, she waved an apology as she raced through.

 _Sara… is something wrong?_ He asked again not understanding why Sara’s thoughts were scattered.

Moving quickly, she raced up the ramp, “Kallo… is everyone on board?” She asked as she paused at the button which would seal the ship.

“Yes, everyone is on board,” he answered a little perplexed as she had already asked that question.

“Good,” Sara closed the ship, “take off and get us out of range of the Nexus sensors.”

“Of course,” he told her.

Sara raced through the ship.

“Sara?” Cora questioned but she ignored her second and went straight to her quarters.

Waking in she stubbed her toes and stumbled over a piece of Rem tech. “Fuck!” She swore as she hopped away from the heavy piece of tech, she made a mental note to tell Peebee to pick up her things, in fact Liam’s old room… would be a perfect work room for her. Hopping over to a box of her father’s things she dug around for the one thing she knew her father would have packed. She found the packet of dry erase markers, glancing around she realised she didn’t have the room here.

Leaving her room, she put the packet in her mouth and started to climb a ladder. “Hey kid what’s…” Drack started to say as he walked out of the kitchen only to watch Sara get up the ladder and then race across the catwalk.

“Sara,” Lexi called as Sara raced pass her and up to the vidcom and meeting room. She made the observation glass opaque and started to put the signal up on the glass.

“You grab her I’ll snatch the markers,” Cora told Lexi after watching Sara for several minutes. Sam had told the team that something was up with Sara, and since she was ignoring them, they had to agree with Sam. They had all gathered up on the meeting deck with her and watched her.

Lexi nodded and hoped she wasn’t about to get punched, she grabbed Sara’s shoulders and pulled her away from the glass. Cora snatched her markers and Lexi was wise enough to release her as her attention was focused on Cora.

“Give them back!” Sara demanded as she reached for them but Cora dodged her and came to stand next to Drack, Peebee took a half step to stand before Cora. Avitus held out an arm to stop Sara and Vederia got ready to put up a barrier.

“Not until you tell us what is wrong,” Cora told her firmly.

“Sam said you’ve been anxious and jumpy since Dr Aridana showed you some signal.” Lexi told her.

“It’s not just some signal, it’s a code.” Sara stated, completely sure now she was seeing what she had guessed when she first saw the signal.

“Although I can see a pattern it is no code I know,” Sam told the room.

“It is a N7 code,” Sara explained, surprised that her Dad hadn’t taught Sam this.

“Your father was the only N7 in the Heleus cluster.” Cora reminded her.

“I know… and yet… that is a N7 to N7 deep cover; covert ops code being used.” Sara explained as she pointed at it. “Dad… taught Scott and I about it. Just in case.”

“Deep cover?” Jaal asked.

Sara nodded, “Yes, there are three levels to N7 coding, or at least how you would go about decoding.” She explained.

“How can you tell,” Vetra asked.

“The way the code is written tells you, this one is a deep cover N7 to N7 message.” She explained

“Give them back,” Drack told Cora, if this was a code Sara knew it might be important, if it wasn’t… well… they would deal with that if it happened. He firmly believed that Sara still hadn’t really grieved for the loss of her father, the others of the team were also waiting for that moment Sara finally couldn’t cope anymore, so much had been put on her shoulders, it wasn’t healthy for her mentally.

Cora glanced to Lexi but she nodded and Cora relinquished the markers.

“Explain this to us Sara,” Vetra asked as she sat on the round table, their pet pyjack jumped up onto her lap to be patted. “Pee on me and I am feeding you to Drack.”

“Fatten it first.” Drack told her not even joking, he would totally eat that pyjack.

Sara went back to work on first decoding the signal. “All N7’s are given a 12-digit identification number and a code unique to them and their number, they learn that code and they learn the principles behind decoding another N7’s unique code.”

“Wow, and I thought Spectres were paranoid.” Avitus remarked a little in awe.

Sara chuckled as she moved on to decode the message using two different colours, she then decoded the message.

“Um… I’m no code breaker but I think you failed.” Avitus stated. It was a string of letters, a number and symbols.

4IIOREDMGRYINT RLZVII++-F=FRED

Sara glanced back to him then to the code, “Oh… right… you can’t read N7 short hand which is also technically a code.”

“Wait, the decoded message is still in code?” Vederia asked, “how paranoid do you have to be to have a code inside a code?”

Sara chuckled, “You don’t know the half of it, the message reads. For your eyes only, critical mission failure, bad intelligence on current mission parameters, report to landing zone seven for a hot drop to new meet location, beware foes are friends, urgent.” She said as she wrote down the decoded message.

“You got all of that, from that?” Cora asked.

Sara nodded. “well, you have to make up for the gaps in the language but roughly… yeah.”

“Parts still don’t make sense… Landing zone 7…” Jaal asked.

“Oh, that one is easy,” Sara went and rubbed out landing zone and replaced it with habitat.

“Sara,” Moshae said, “should you have decoded that in front of us?” she asked even though technically she had no idea how Sara had deciphered that but still she had done it in front of them.

“I trust you all.” Sara told them.

“But it says for your eyes only.” Moshae told her.

Sara winced, “It doesn’t just say that, yes it does say for your eyes only, but it also means, for your eyes only don’t trust command. Meaning whoever sent the message doesn’t want the command to know about this message or to trust our command structure at this point in time.”

“Why didn’t you say that then?” Lumont asked.

Sara shrugged, “the short hand is interpretive, how you interpret the message can change, how I read it might not be how my father would read it. Essentially we would both get the same message but the nuisance changes person to person.”

“Foes are friendlies?” Vetra asked.

“Yeah… it wasn’t uncommon for N7’s to find people considered enemies and turn them into allies. Pretty much it is a nice way of saying when you meet my people, please don’t shoot them.” Sara explained and got chuckles.

“Can we trust it,” Drack asked seriously.

She pointed to the two parts of the code she hadn’t decoded. “This is my father’s N7 number, who the message is for, the number under it is the sender… they are meant to be dead. N7 numbers and codes aren’t recycled.”

“Sara, you deciphered that cold, granted you’ve been trained to decode this but… that seemed easy.” Lexi questioned.

“My father’s code wasn’t the only N7 code I was taught; I was also taught three others. Technically all three should be dead and in the milky way.”

“Sara,” Drack said firmly to get her attention, “Do we trust it?” he asked.

She nodded, “We have to.” She told him without hesitation but she was conflicted, she was meant to be delivering the other Pathfinders to settlements until ships became available for them to use and she was also meant to be taking the Moshae back to Aya. However, if they didn’t action this now, they might lose their chance, it would only broadcast for seven days and then vanish, assuming the other party was compromised. The sender would vanish, everything they had set up would vanish and she didn’t know how long it was broadcasting before it was found.

She turned to her fellow Pathfinders. “Hey, I speak mainly for myself but, we’re passengers, our missions can wait if you need to action this immediately.” Avitus stated and Lumont and Vederia nodded in agreement.

Sara turned to Moshae, “I can call Efra and let him know that you needed to investigate something and I thought it interesting enough to want to tag along if it takes longer than seven days, I will let him know.” She told the young woman; she was just as invested as the others to see this through and was curious about the mysterious signal and its sender.

Sara smiled, “Thank you,” she told Moshae, “Kallo… Ryder 1 please.”

“Yes Ryder,” Kallo responded, “excuse me, excuse me, excuse me,” he said as he made his way through the throng of people to go back to the controls.

“Make your call please Moshae.” Sara asked.

“So… what do you expect to find when you get there?” Cora asked.

“Probably more questions then I’ll get answers for.” Sara answered before her eyes focused on her girlfriend. “Also… Peebee… while we are going to Ryder 1, please tidy up all the Rem Tech you’ve strewn all over our bedroom floor and move it to Liam’s old hangout, it will be your workroom from now onwards. I’m tired of tripping over it just walking into our room.” Sara told her and there were chuckles as Peebee gave her a bashful smile.

*

Sara raced onto the bridge a few hours later as Kallo had informed her that they were approaching Ryder 1. She was followed by the others; they were just as curious as Sara. Kallo glanced back to Sara, “We’re here.”

“What will we be looking for?” Suvi asked in her sexy accent.

“It will be obvious, try near the satellite,” Sara suggested and Kallo moved them to the satellite.

Suvi blinked, “Wow… Ryder… we just got hit with something,” she stated before she paused, “Sorry I meant comms wise. We got hit by something comms wise.” She corrected as the others gathered closer to be in the thick of things. “That came from that.” She pointed to a small beacon next to the satellite.

Sara leant down to see what was sent to them. “Just a hello,” she told Suvi before she typed on her omni-tool sending Suvi the response. “Send that back.”

Suvi nodded and did as she was asked, a few moments later a data packet was sent and then a few more moments later the beacon exploded quite flashily. “It just… exploded…”

Sara nodded, “It served its purpose, what did it give us?”

“You know,” Gil said, “Liam would be getting such a kick out this, he would be all like, that’s 007 spy shit that is.” He said doing a pretty good impersonation of their friend, it caused Sara to grin.

Suvi quickly opened the packet and frowned, “Directions, but… everything up until now has been encoded…” she said before she turned to Sara.

“It didn’t need to be encoded, we came, we responded correctly. It sent.” Sara told her.

Suvi nodded and sent the information to Kallo.

“Okay… very precise instructions,” Kallo told Sara as he checked the path against his charts.

“Follow them.” Sara told him.

“But… it will take us awfully close to the Scourge,” Kallo explained.

Sara frowned as she thought for a minute, “But what a better way to hide.”

Kallo nodded, that was correct, if he had to hide the Tempest or scramble sensors, he would use the Scourge to do it. He started to follow the instructions, as he went, he became more and more impressed with the pilot who had created these instructions, they were precise, getting close but never too close. Just close enough to scramble the sensors of anyone following or tracking them but not too close to give Kallo pause while following them. After twenty minutes of carefully following the instructions Kallo noticed a slight difference. “Oh, that is clever,” he stated as they came upon a hidden fold in the Scourge, something they wouldn’t have been able to see if not for the very specific instructions. “We would have completely missed this if we had approached any other way.”

“Take us in.” Sara told him and he nodded.

Kallo aimed for the middle and frowned as he noticed the opening was a lot larger than it looked, big enough for a ship much larger than an Ark to slip through. Kallo brought the Tempest to an all stop.

“Skkut skkut,” Jaal breathed as they came into a large pocket with a large ship smack bang in the middle of it.

“Not Kett,” Drack remarked pleased that this wasn’t a trap set by their enemies. Although he was impressed with the fact that there was only one way in or out, they had clear view of anyone coming to visit.

“Not an Ark either,” Suvi stated.

“Kallo take us in a wide loop, Suvi scan it.” Sara said using caution.

“Um… we just got another hello,” Suvi declared.

Sara glanced over to Suvi’s terminal, “Send the same response.” Sara told her and Suvi nodded.

“And another set of instructions,” Suvi quickly handed them to Kallo.

“It seems they are trying to be comforting, this will take us on a loop.” Kallo told Sara who nodded.

“Follow,” Sara told him.

Kallo nodded and started to follow the flight path. He frowned as the noticed the ship had no damage from the Scourge on it. A ship of this size without any damage, he wanted to chat to the engineers. Suddenly his eyes focused on Salarian script and he relaxed as he realised this ship was from the milky way, next to it was Asari and every major language of the Milky Way galaxy.

“Defiance, a bold name for a ship.” Sara remarked.

“You came to Aya… in a ship called Tempest… on fire…” Jaal reminded her.

“That wasn’t the plan,” Sara reminded him.

“We know that now,” he replied with a chuckle.

“It’s huge,” Cora remarked, it was maybe two thirds the length of the Nexus and the same around.

“When and where was this being built,” Vetra breathed, if this was being built at the same time as the Arks or Nexus, she was sure she would have known about it and Kesh would have tried to get her to acquire plans or resources from it.

“Would have had to have left shortly after us,” Suvi added.

“I wonder what the engine is like?” Gil asked causing Sara to grin.

“See, more questions,” Sara told her group and got nods.

Kallo followed the directions and made it to the only opening in the ship. “That isn’t exactly a hanger bay door.” He slowly moved the Tempest into the opening which suddenly widened enough for him to consider it a proper entry. “Huh… it is a ship entry point though.” He came to an all stop when directed, arms reached out to connect to them and once they were the Tempest started to move again. The arms carried them into a large opening and their eyes focused on large words written in English, Welcome to Defiance. Suddenly they were moved and new arms grabbed them and pulled them sideways into a dock. They heard arms connect to them and the dock adjust to fit the Tempest.

Sara let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, “We’re here,” she said to herself, nervous energy churned in her body.

“We’ve been given two ways of leaving the ship but it seems it all connects to the main loading platform.” Kallo explained.

“I would prefer we use the ramp,” Cora stated, “if we need to, we can retreat back into the ship easier.”

“I’ll get the guns…” Drack started to say.

“No… no guns…” Sara told him. “I don’t want anyone to accidently shoot anyone we meet. Melee weapons are allowed.” She told Drack firmly.

“They haven’t proven our friends yet…” Drack argued.

“Neither had the Angara, I still went unarmed to show I was honest in my attempt at friendly contact.” Sara reminded him.

“And it worked,” Jaal reminded him, “If she had come in armour and with weapons, I doubt anyone would have let her into Aya.”

Drack glared at Sara, “If I die… I will kill you.”

Sara smiled, “Noted,” she told him as she glanced to everyone, “Let’s go.” She said as she hopped forward.

“Wait… all of us?” Suvi asked as that was what Sara had implied, usually Suvi remained on the ship with Kallo, Gil and Lexi because it was safe although she did occasionally leave to gather samples she never wandered far.

Sara paused and turned, “Come on… you’re not curious?”

Suvi and Kallo were suddenly out of their seats and following the large group through the ship, to the exit ramp. Drack itched to have his hammer in his hands but Sara was right, if they wanted answers, they needed to play nice.

Sara sighed as she walked onto the platform and glanced around, there was no one around and mostly dark. “Déjà vu,” she remarked as this reminded her of arriving at the Nexus.

“Maybe they weren’t expecting us.” Jaal remarked.

Sara moved closer to read the red security tape which had text on it, text which changed to English for her to read. “Please wait while your Customs, Immigration and Security officer arrives,” Sara read out for everyone.

“Should we go looking?” Cora asked.

Sara shook her head, “I think that would be bad, besides, we have no idea where people could be here.”

“There is something weird with this section,” Gil remarked as his eyes scanned over stacked docking sections. At the moment this place could only dock maybe five ships of Tempest’s size but there were docks for about thirty ships in here.

“I’ll take your word for it.” Sara told him as she glanced around. They heard before they saw the sound of running. Everyone turned to see the running figure.

“Shit!” Gil swore as a large red Geth they had never seen before was running towards them.

“Geth!” Drack called as he reached for his shotgun only to remember it was still on the ship. He threw Sara an I told you so look as he grabbed his hammer. Cora went to throw out a barrier so that they could retreat to the ship. Avitus put his body between the Moshae and the enemy as Vederia went to throw out some singularities to buy them time.

“The killer machines you told me about?” Jaal asked then frowned as the Geth stopped on the other side of the of the security tape. Slowly the geth raised its hands and arms out and away from its body.

“Wait…” Sara told everyone as the Geth held its arms up above its head.

The Geth waited for them to calm a little before it took slow steps forward, pausing between each step, keeping its arms up, judging them before each step. If they had a gun, they could easily fill it with holes. Once it was through the tape and just a metre from them it stopped and slowly dropped its arms but kept them away from its body and in clear view for them to see it wasn’t reaching for anything.

“Thank you for not shooting me,” it told them.

“It talked!” Suvi exclaimed, “do geth talk?” she asked Gil who shrugged.

“I’m Legionnaire, welcome to Defiance. Sorry about the delay we weren’t expecting you to come so soon.” Legionnaire told them.

“It’s using contractions,” Peebee said as she stepped forward and closer to the Geth. “Are you fully sentient?” she asked, to the best of her knowledge geth were aware but not considered fully sentient.

“Yes, all geth are fully sentient,” he told her. “By the way, I’m not an it… I have a name it’s Legionnaire, I also prefer male pronouns if that helps.” He told her firmly.

“Forgive me Legionnaire, I was just excited about the possibilities, like how you gained sentience?” Peebee asked as she got closer.

Legionnaire tilted his head, “it is… a long-complicated story… best told with snacks and in a more comfortable setting.”

“All stories should be told with snacks,” Jaal agreed and Legionnaire nodded.

“Although I cannot eat… I understand the… aesthetic.” Legionnaire agreed.

Peebee paced around Legionnaire, “I thought Geth were roughly our size, maybe a little bigger but not this big.” She remarked.

“I’m a Geth Prime, you are referring to normal Geth, we have them here.” He explained.

Everyone turned as another person ran up and through the security tape, this time it flashed and a picture of this person was displayed with their name. They paused beside Legionnaire, bent over and used the Geth to brace against as they tried to get their breath back. The security tape declared that their Customs, immigration and Security officer was this person.

“Are you okay? Should I call a medic?” Legionnaire teased.

“No… fine… came… long… way…” they explained between breaths.

“You ran all the way here from Security?” Legionnaire questioned and the person nodded and finally got their breath back and stood straight.

“And used the service tunnels to get here,” the female Batarian told him, “Not all of us can run around in turbo lift shafts.” She told him.

“I had an appointment,” Legionnaire told her letting her know he was much closer than she was and she nodded before she turned to their guests, she stepped away from Legionnaire and cleared her throat.

“Hi, welcome to Defiance, I am Agganathae, but most just call me Agga, I will be your Customs, Immigration and Security officer, I apologise for the delay.” She told them in her most bubbly customer service voice. She pulled up her omni-tool and the procedure she was to use for the very first time. “Please bear with me as this is still a new process.” She told the group. “Before I begin, due to staff shortages at this time I must inform you that we cannot allow anyone to remain on board your ship during your stay, so everyone needs to submit to processing.” She explained, it wasn’t exactly the whole truth, it was mostly the truth but the real reason was the commander wanted them all on board.

“Um…” Sara said a little uneasy about leaving no one on her ship.

“If you like I can allow everyone a once only pass to carry a gun.” Legionnaire offered and Agga turned to him in shock.

“But… there is a no gun rule for anyone who isn’t Defiance staff.” Agga stated.

Legionnaire nodded, “I know, I helped write the rules.” He reminded her. “But it is more important that they feel comfortable enough to leave their ship and come with me. It’s a small price to pay for them to have peace of mind.” He told her as he made the relevant correction to the form Agga was going to use. Eventually they would allow specific non-Defiance people to carry weapons other than melee weapons but that would be later.

“What race is she?” Jaal asked Suvi.

“Batarian,” Suvi answered.

Agga frowned, “You are higher in the chain of command then me… so… that’s on you.” She turned back to the group who were surprised to hear that Legionnaire was high up in the command structure. “Now, may I have your Captain first.” Agga asked.

“That would be me,” Sara said as she walked forward.

Agga held up her omni-tool to scan Sara’s face.

“Sara Ryder, Pathfinder.” She introduced.

Agga paused with a frown.  
“Pathfinder is a title,” Legionnaire explained.

“It is also a job but I am the Captain too.” Sara added and Agga nodded and put Pathfinder and Captain in the job field.

“Human, obviously, ship’s name?” Agga asked as part of the form auto filled from their records.

“Tempest.” Sara answered.

“Will you be carrying a gun and what type?” Agga asked.

“I’m good,” Sara told her choosing to trust them.

Agga nodded and reached for a device on her hip, she checked to make sure she had the right one, “This is a security chip, it will identify you as well as keep you from going where you aren’t meant to. We can remove it when you leave but if you visit again a new chip will be installed and you will have to go through this process again so it is recommended that you retain the chips.” She explained as she programmed the chip. “Please hold out your left hand in a fist please.” Sara offered her hand as requested, a hiss and a pinch later Agga pulled the device away and checked to make sure the chip was reading correctly. “Okay, while I process the rest of your people, you should put together a bag.”

Sara nodded, “if you have any questions please ask my second Cora until I return.” Just as Sara turned to leave an alarm started to wail, everyone turned to see a pyjack running away from the security tape. A sphere rose out of its docking port and raced after the pyjack, once it was above the pyjack it shot out a stasis field then slowly started to bring the animal back.

“Mm… that will have to be moved.” Agga said to herself as she made a note in her protocols. “Is that the only animal, pet or livestock on board?” she asked.

“We have a space hamster but it is in a cage,” Sara answered. “Is he okay?” she asked as the pyjack and sphere came to stop next to Agga.

“It is just a stasis field; they will be fine.” Agga turned to the pyjack, “Sorry little guy, but our eco system is very delicate, you cannot wander around in it.” She told the animal. “If you like we can house your pyjack in a kennel…” she turned to Legionnaire, “that is the word right… kennel?” she asked and he nodded. “It will be fed and watered and have room to move unless you have a suitable cage for it.”

Sara shook her head, “no we just let it wander around so, the kennel will be perfect.” Agga nodded.

“I do recommend your space hamster be brought on board for your visit.” She added as she typed for a few moments and the sphere moved off to move the pyjack into a holding kennel. She sent a receipt to Sara’s omni-tool which had also been registered.

“I will go and get a bag, Cora.” Sara said and Cora nodded.

“That’s a cool piece of tech,” Suvi remarked, Peebee and Gil nodded.

Cora stepped forward to be processed next. “Cora Harper, 2IC and Pathfinder team. I will not carry a gun.”

Agga scanned her face and filled in the fields she needed before the form auto-filled the rest. Cora offered her left wrist to be chipped. Agga chipped her and then checked to make sure the chip was working.

“Um… I am also biotic,” Cora told her, some ships in the milky way had firm no human biotics allowed on board rules, they had reason, human biotics weren’t exactly known for being stable.

Agga blinked as she considered what Cora told her. “Right… that was a thing.” She paused for a moment, “Biotic status is not a factor considered during this process.” She told Cora, “It would also be pretty hypocritical of us to ask considering that there are quite a few powerful biotics on board, some of them are quite high up in command and they aren’t even Asari.” Agga told her and Cora nodded a little pleased that she wouldn’t be guarded or watched during her stay. What she didn’t know at this time was that Defiance had a firm no discrimination policy.

Suvi was next, “Hi Dr Suvi Anwar, Science Officer.” She declared as she presented her hand. Agga scanned her face and quickly and filled in the form.

“Will you be carrying a gun and what will it be?” Agga asked.

“Oh no… I… more likely will shoot myself.” Suvi told her honestly. Agga nodded and finished the paperwork and registering Suvi before she chipped her and checked to make sure everything was reading.

“Do you have a science team on board?” Suvi asked, the more people she could talk to the better.

Agga nodded, “We have a wide variety of scientists on board, currently only a small section of the science team is awake. If you like I can send you a complete list?” she asked and Suvi nodded, Agga quickly sent a list of their scientists and what they are experts at.

“Thanks,” Suvi told her. Agga glanced for the next person, half of the people who had come had vanished to put a bag together.

Gil came to stand before her. “Gil Brodie, engineer, no gun.” He told her and Agga quickly processed and chipped him. “Hey, is there a bar on this ship?” he asked.

Agga nodded, “Yes a couple but because most of the people on board are still asleep, they aren’t open. Give it a few more days and they should be open.”

“Damn,” Gil complained before he went to go and put together a bag.

“How long have you been here?” Cora asked curious.

“In the Heleus cluster or in this position?” Agga asked for clarification.

“Both,” Cora asked as Kallo got ready to be processed.

“We arrived three days ago and found this two days ago.” Agga answered before she turned her attention to Kallo.

“Kallo Jath, pilot, no gun.” He told her and Agga quickly started to process him. “You hit the Scourge…”

“The what?” Legionnaire asked.

“The Dark matter cloud, we call it the Scourge, how did you get here without hitting it?” he asked turning his attention to Legionnaire as he held out his left hand.

“We hit it, kind of hard actually,” Legionnaire told him glad that the Dark Matter cloud now had a cool nick name for the Commander.

Kallo glanced to Agga and she nodded, “A bumpy ride.” She agreed.

“But… there are no signs of damage.” Kallo asked shocked.

“That would be because of the ship’s hull design,” Legionnaire explained. “When we have the time, I can introduce you to Defiance’s primary designer and the person who designed the hull.” He told Kallo who nodded vigorously.

“Also, I would like to meet the pilot who made the directions,” Kallo asked.

“Joker and Charon,” Legionnaire stated and made a note on his own omni-tool to remind him to introduce Kallo to Ra’yven, Jeff and Charon. “They will probably want everything you have on the Scourge though.” He told Kallo and Kallo nodded, it was a cheap price to pay just to learn about the hull design which repelled the Scourge.

“I will ask the Pathfinder for permission.” He said before he raced off to put together a bag.

Vetra put down her bag as she came to stand before Agga, “Vetra Nyx, Procurement and Pathfinder team, no gun.” She told Agga as she held out her left hand. Agga scanned her face and filled in the form, she returned the device in her hand to her hip and grabbed the other one, this one was red.

Vetra pulled her hand away, “Why did you change devices?” she asked.

Agga showed her the device, it was the same except for the fact that it was red. “The chips inside of this device were designed for use on Turian and Quarian physiology, you should experience no allergic reactions or adverse effects. In fact, you will notice that anything with a solid red surface is for Turian and Quarian use only, that includes, showers, toilets, cooking utensils and facilities as well as food and drink containers.” Agga explained and Vetra was impressed, usually Turians and Quarians weren’t really considered when designing a ship unless it was a Turian or Quarian ship but these guys had designed specifically for them.

“I get that you guys are still in the process of waking your people but are you going to have the ability to trade?” Vetra asked as she offered her hand to Agga.

Agga nodded, “We have a Commercial and recreation section on board, it has been nicknamed the Commons. Once we are up and running, we will be open to trade within reason.” She explained and Vetra sighed in relief, she might be able to get some of the things they were having issues getting.

“May as well do me next I am the only other Turian on board.” Avitus said as he stepped up next.

Sara put her bag down and clapped Cora on the shoulder to relieve her.

“Avitus Rix, passenger / Pathfinder, I will not have a weapon.” He told Agga, although it went against his instincts, he had to admit Sara was right, if they wanted to make friends, they had to show they were friendly.

Agga nodded and started to fill in the form, she had to add a line since Avitus wasn’t actual crew. She scanned his face and then finally chipped him. She swapped back to the other device.

Vederia and then Lumont followed Avitus and both had also chosen not to bring a gun, Lexi put her bag down. “Dr Lexi T’Perro, medical officer, no gun.” She offered her hand to Agga and Agga quickly processed her, getting faster the more she got familiar with the paperwork.

“I am guessing you have a pretty extensive medical facilities and team on board and that they are probably not all awake yet but do you have any experts in synthetic implants and replacement limbs?” she asked as she glanced to Drack who had taken the spot a little behind her. Some of his implants needed urgent work but they didn’t currently have the experts or resources to help him.

“We do in fact, four of the best are currently awake and you will meet them.” Agga told her.

“I told you, I am fine,” Drack grumbled.

“Drack,” Lexi said in disapproval.

“Hey, do as you are told or we’ll tell Kesh, she’ll knock you out and drag you to them by your ankles,” Vetra told Drack, not even teasing him. “Then we’ll tease you about it for the next decade.”

“If that doesn’t work, I know someone who can headbutt him into next month if needed.” Legionnaire supplied seriously.

Lexi, Drack and Vetra watched him for a moment trying to figure out if he was kidding before they glanced to Agga who smiled. She had seen Jane headbutt Krogans to settle a few disputes during training so knew Legionnaire wasn’t kidding, “Oh… he isn’t joking.”

“Damn, that is one bad ass Krogan.” Vetra remarked impressed.

“He wasn’t referring to an actual Krogan,” Agga told her truthfully, The Commander was considered a proud clan member but she was genetically, not a Krogan.

Lexi grabbed her bag and stepped aside allowing Drack to step forward, “Nakmor Drack, Pathfinder team, I will have a Ruzad shotgun on me.” He told Agga boldly. She nodded and filled in the paperwork then chipped him.

“Headbutt first, only if you are in fear of your life should you shoot.” Legionnaire told him.

Drack chuckled, “You really do know Krogan.”

Legionnaire nodded, “I am a member of a krantt.”

Drack jerked a little shocked to hear that this Geth was considered a trusted ally.

Legionnaire tilted his head and correctly interpreted Drack’s surprise, “it’s… a long-complicated story.”

Drack walked off still considering what Legionnaire had said and was curious about this long-complicated story.

Peebee stepped forward, “Peebee, Pathfinder team, no gun,” she said.

Agga paused, “I need your birth name for the records but you will only be referred to Peebee once this is done.” She told her.

Peebee sighed, “Pelessaria B’Sayle,” she supplied grudgingly.

Agga scanned her face and then started to fill in the form, there was a red flash as the records didn’t quite match. “Doctor huh,” she said as she corrected the discrepancy.

“Just Peebee,” she corrected as she held her hand out to get her chip and Agga nodded and chipped her once she was done.

“You have a Doctorate?” Sara asked surprised.

“You sound shocked,” Peebee told her flippantly.

“Always full of surprises,” Sara told her with a flirty smile.

Agga took a deep breath and approached the last two people to be processed, “Hi, I am going to guess you are native to this area of space.” She got nods. “May I get your race name please.” She asked as she scanned one of them to make sure that the security chips wouldn’t cause allergic reactions, her scanner told her the normal chips would be fine for the new alien so she made note of it for everyone.

“Angara,” Jaal answered.

Agga frowned, wondering how she would spell that.

“Are you okay with the English Alphabet and spelling?” Sara asked and Agga nodded, she had studied for years to make sure she was prepared for this job. “A, N, G, A, R, A.” Sara spelt for her.

“I am Jaal Ama Darav, Pathfinder team, no gun.” He told her as he held out his hand.

Agga listened as Sara spelt out Jaal’s name for her, “Ah… gender?” she asked, she had been able to identify the genders of the other races so hadn’t needed to ask.

“Male,” Jaal answered.

Agga nodded as she made the entry, then scanned his face and then chipped him. She then turned to the final person. “Moshae Sjefa, passenger / Ambassador, female, no gun.”

“Greetings Ambassador,” Agga told her then listened as Sara gave her the spellings, she then scanned Moshae’s face and finally chipped her.

“Now is that everyone?” Agga asked just to be sure.

Sara frowned, “Well… there is Sam.” She told Agga a little cautiously, it was one thing for Geth but having a partner AI might be a step too far for them but they still had time to turn and leave if the response was bad.

“Please have Sam present themselves so that I can process them.” Agga said firmly although cheerfully.

“Sam is a partner AI to a Pathfinder, it… they have no physical body,” Legionnaire explained for Sara, hesitating over the appropriate pronoun to use for Sam.

Agga thought for a moment. “Oh, okay… um…” she frowned as she brought up Sara’s form again and tried to figure out how to add Sam.

“Hello, I am Sam.” Sam said through Sara.

“Hello, I am just trying to figure out how to include you,” Agga told the air and Sara was instantly relieved, although she was curious as Batarians weren’t really known for being… flexible.

“Ah… here… I can put you here,” Agga said as she made the adjustment. “Can I assume all Pathfinders have a Sam?” she asked as she went to alter their forms.

“Mine was disassembled to protect it we are currently trying to figure out how to put them back together,” Lumont told her.

Agga nodded and made note of that, “If you like we have experts in AI software on board I can give you a list if you would like the help.” She supplied, Lumont nodded and Agga sent him a list.

“I have a Sam,” Vederia told her and Agga nodded and made the adjustments.

“Hello,” this Sam had a different accent than Sara’s, it sounded Asari.

“Greetings.” Agga said pleasantly and then turned to Avitus.

“Mine… is… isolated at the moment.” Avitus said a little defensively, his Sam had been… wounded… when its original Pathfinder, and Avitus’s life partner, died mid transfer.

Agga watched him for a moment and correctly guessed that something was wrong with his Sam in a very different way than it was for Lumont. “If you like Legionnaire can send you a list of Therapists that specialise in AI mental health.”

“AI need therapists?” Avitus asked.

“Seriously, that’s what you got from that?” Sara asked the Turian. “Me… wow… there are Therapists who have specialised in AI… maybe they help with Avitus’s Sam.” She told him, everyone in her group then turned to Legionnaire wondering if he saw a therapist.

“It is mandatory for all Defiance personnel,” Legionnaire explained honestly.

“Why?” Lexi asked interested and a little pleased that it seemed this group were taking their mental health seriously.

Legionnaire and Agga turned to each other for a moment before they turned back to their guests, “it’s a long-complicated story.” They said in sync but didn’t elaborate.

“Okay can you all please stand by your bags.” Agga stated as she put away her chip device and started to type to compile and finish the checks. Drack’s papers brought up some red flags, he was after all an old Krogan Merc but nothing too bad to prevent him clearance. “Now… due to staff shortages the hotel where I would normally direct you hasn’t been open yet. Instead you will be placed with people who are awake in their homes.”

“I mean we don’t mind sleeping on the ship,” Sara told her, they didn’t want to impose.

“Oh, don’t worry, when this was floated as a possibility people volunteered. All I am doing is trying to place you with people you might get along with. Which reminds me are there any sleeping arrangements I should know about?” she asked, it was a partial truth, in most cases she was matching people based on their jobs but at the same time she could match families together.

“Peebee and I are partners,” Sara supplied as she moved her things next to Peebee’s jostling her napping hamster awake in the process.

“Cora and I are partners,” Jaal supplied as he moved his things closer to hers, she blushed as others chuckled, they had all known Jaal and Cora had recently taken their relationship further than just friends but it was the first time either had actually said it.

Agga nodded and made notes as she started to tag the bags and the cage which held a very indignant hamster.

“Hey… will I be staying with an Engineer?” Gil asked when she got to him.

Agga nodded, “Yes, a married couple but both are engineers.”

Gil smiled pleased at the thought of being able to talk shop.

Agga finished tagging the bags with their destinations. “Okay, your bags will be delivered to the quarters you will be staying at and you will meet your hosts soon. I will now send a simple guide to your omni-tools, this guide will let you know what will be available and how not to kicked out and barred.”

There were some chuckles.

“Again, I would like to thank you for your time and consideration, Welcome to Defiance.” Agga told them as she completed the process and the red security tape turned green.

“If you are ready to go, please follow me.” Legionnaire said.

Sara took a moment to lock her ship and then nodded to Legionnaire who turned and went to lead the way. Suvi ran a little to catch up with Legionnaire who instantly modified his steps to hers.

“Thanks,” Suvi told him as he turned and waited for her to ask her question. “That thing that did the stasis field.” She said to start off.

“A Sphere,” Legionnaire opened his chest plate and pulled out a sphere which he tossed to her.

Suvi caught it to study it as he closed his chest.

“Yes, does it only use stasis…” she asked seeing the possibilities of the device in her hands.

“No, it can create shields as well. Originally it was designed for target practise at Grissom, however it now has many applications, that one is used for communications and as an extra omni-tool interface.” He reached behind his body and pulled out a smaller sphere. “This one is used for reconnaissance,” he explained before he returned it. “Some Geth also use modified spheres for tight space work as a platform.” He explained as they got to a turbo lift, he used his arm to keep the doors opened until everyone was in then he pulled his arm back and took a position propped against the wall, he used his omni-tool to tell the lift where they were going and it started to move.

“So… it can pretty much do lots of things,” Suvi remarked and Legionnaire nodded.

“Within reason.” Legionnaire replied. “Do you want one?” he asked.

“I want a bunch,” Suvi told him.

“If you have a specific need, I can introduce you to the creator, they are always interested in what modification ideas people come up with.” He explained just as the lift moved into a clear tube showing them a view of the Commons.

“Wow…” Cora stated impressed.

“See that weird deck stacking, it ruins…” Gil said as he pointed.

“They aren’t in their permanent positions,” Legionnaire interrupted Gil. He activated his sphere which rose out of Suvi’s hands and moved into the middle of the lift, a holo appeared of Defiance. “See, Defiance isn’t just a ship, it is also a Station.” A few more taps and they watched as the ship opened up and became a station.

“When was this being built?” Vetra asked now certain Kesh would have had her acquiring plans.

“That is a part of that long-complicated story.” Legionnaire told her.

“How many people can Defiance hold and support?” Sara asked curious.

“When in full production Defiance can house half a million people but support six hundred thousand people. We currently have two hundred and sixty-five thousand people on board.” Legionnaire answered.

“Why not fill the ship?” Cora asked.

Legionnaire turned to her, “Again, that is a part of that long-complicated story.” He explained, “Suffice to say we have a genetically stable population of almost every race from the milky way galaxy on board although we didn’t start out with that in mind it just became logic to have a good and equal amount of all races.” He explained.

The lift came to a stop and the doors opened to reveal a Hanar, Legionnaire leant around to be seen, “We are going to Security.” He told the Hanar.

“This one will wait for the next lift.” It answered as it stepped back from the door.

Jaal and Moshae stared in wonder as they had never seen a Hanar. The door slid closed and they started to move again, “That was a Hanar,” Sara explained with a grin.

“How does it float?” Jaal asked.

“Mass Effect fields,” Suvi told him. “Hanar are extremely polite.” She added.

The lift came to a stop again, Legionnaire held out his hand and his sphere returned to it before the doors opened. They walked into a screening bay and had to wait as they were scanned. Legionnaire overrode the blocks and the doors at the other end opened.

They started to move.

“Why they here?” a screechy voice said as it walked around the station to show a Vorcha in uniform. “They not Defiance… they not allowed here.”

“They were invited by the boss,” Legionnaire explained.

“Krogan has gun, he not Defiance… it not allowed.” The Vorcha declared.

“I allowed it,” Legionnaire explained not bothered by the questions or the abrupt nature of the creature.

“Rules say no…” the Vorcha defended his stance.

“I will take responsibility for him and Drack promised to headbutt first and shoot only if needed.” Legionnaire added.

The Vorcha glanced to the old Krogan. “Prefer be shot then headbutt…” He stated before he waved them off. Once they were around the bend Lexi turned to the slightly mortified Angara. “That was a Vorcha, used to see them on Omega all the time.”

“How many races did you manage to bring?” Sara asked.

“Thirteen,” Legionnaire answered, “technically fifteen, but one of each race doesn’t technically constitute a race so… thirteen.” He corrected; the Virtual Aliens had been wiped out by the Reapers in the first attack. The Raloi had almost been wiped out, their population was so low they couldn’t afford to send a genetically viable population because they needed everyone they had left just to rebuild.

He walked them through a door into a large ready room which had a circular seating plan with lots of chairs. “For ease please sit on this side of the room,” Legionnaire indicated before he started to move furniture to the other side of the seating. Sara glanced around; the room was bare although there were boxes to be unpacked not giving her any clues as to who this ready room was for.

“Do you need a hand?” Sara asked Legionnaire and went to grab the other end of the couch he was about to move.

“I’m fine.” He told her as he lifted the whole couch and moved it easily.

“So… still think this was a good idea?” Drack asked as they watched the Geth move a couch on his own.

Sara nodded although inside her stomach was churning with anxious energy.


	17. Chapter 17 ~ Tempest meets the Normandy

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 17 ~ Tempest meets the Normandy

The door on the other side of the room opened and in walked Samantha, Legionnaire paused still holding the couch up in the air. “You weren’t at training?” he asked surprised.

“I had to go over the feeds and data, then I had to fix a slight problem GUI so I cut out before the sparring started,” Samantha replied as she moved over to the tea and coffee stations. “Why weren’t you at training?”

“I had an appointment so I cut out early.” Legionnaire answered as he finally put down the couch and positioned it.

Samantha nodded as she tucked away her pad in a large pocket on her left thigh on her right thigh was a collection of tools including her ‘work’ toothbrush. She started to make pots of tea and coffee, she glanced over her shoulder and spotted two Turians. “Hey, either of you know how to make Turian coffee?” she asked. “The last time I tried I was told off for ruining the good stuff.”

Avitus walked over, “I can make a mean pot.” He told her as he went to join her but she pointed to the red station next to her. “Right, red is for Turians.”

“And Quarians, make two please.” Samantha stated as she went about making two large Krogan sized pots of what they considered coffee and then four normal sized pots of what humans called coffee and finally she worked on the all-important tea. Once it was ready, she poured herself a cup, she then turned and walked to a chair, she pressed a button and a little platform popped up to put her cup on. She glanced to their guests as she pulled out a sphere. “Please help yourselves.” She gestured to the hot drinks station, the bars were on the other side of the room and currently locked so she didn’t gesture to them. She then made herself look busy and unapproachable by activating her sphere to use as an external terminal to her omni-tool, incomplete reports appeared and she started to work.

Sara grabbed a coffee and paused before Samantha, “Excuse me,” she said and Samantha stopped what she was doing. “You are?” she said trying to engage Samantha in conversation.

“Traynor, Samantha Traynor, and before you ask, it’s not my story to tell.” Samantha told her then she frowned as she realised, she was sensing living technology inside the person before her. She could feel the implants in the others but this person’s tech, was talking, loudly in a weird language and it interested her tech. She then glanced off as she felt the approach of other living technology. Similar and familiar to the point she knew who was leading the group, where each person was and who was trailing. She smiled, “but don’t worry, you don’t have to wait much longer.” She went back to her work.

Sara nodded and walked away to take a seat a little frown on her face, she had understood if Legionnaire didn’t spill the beans, he was an AI and unlikely to get carried away with excitement. Samantha however was organic and could have easily gotten swept up with excitement. She also wondered why Samantha had frowned at her.

The door slid open and in walked Garrus, his eyes instantly noticed that Turian coffee had been made. “Samantha…” he said with a displeased tone.

“No… I did not make it, he did,” Samantha didn’t even glance away from her work as she pointed in the general direction of Avitus.

Garrus followed her hand and noticed two Turians, he sighed, pleased that he wasn’t about to drink horrible coffee again. “Thanks,” he told Avitus as he was followed in by a large throng of chatting people.

“Grunt… use a cup!” Ashley complained as the young Krogan was going to just walk away with the pot.

Grunt groaned but grabbed a spare Krogan sized cup and poured the entire pot into it before he walked off to sit. He noticed Drack staring at him, “What old man?” he said brazenly but Drack just ignored the young Krogan.

“Leave it kid,” Zaeed told Grunt as he nodded to Drack who nodded back, both men knew of each other through reputation only but the important part was that they knew of each other.

“Why are Justicars here?” Vederia asked Lexi who just shrugged as she didn’t know and watched as the two very famous Justicars sat next to each other with cups of tea.

Tali sat next to Garrus and sipped her coffee as she ignored the curious stares as people tried to place her race.

“You act like you’ve never seen a Quarian before.” Drack told his young team mates although it had taken him a few moments to recognise the female’s race. He had done a job on Rannoch back before the Geth had driven them from their home so had seen Quarians outside of their enviro suits.

“Not outside of an enviro suit,” Sara told him which caused Tali to chuckle.

“I don’t see why we have to do this; we should just tell them… the Co…” Javik started to say.

“I will give Grunt permission to headbutt you if you don’t follow the plan.” Ashley declared interrupting him, Jane had explained her plan to the team and it had made sense to do it her way.

“He, he, he…” Grunt laughed.

“And this is why I carry a medical kit with me everywhere,” Karin said as she sat on far end of a couch and tucked said medical kit under her seat.

Lexi’s eyes went wide as she noticed Aria walk across the room to the bar. “Aria T’loak, Pirate Queen of Omega… why is she here?” She asked.

Aria heard her name so glanced to see who had uttered it, she then went back to the bar, it took her a few moments to first hack the lock and to recognise the Asari who said her name. She had helped Lexi get off Omega by feeding extra credits to her parents to help get her through med school.

“Councillor Tevos,” Avitus said confused to see a Council member here.

“Avitus,” Thea greeted, “Good to see you.” She said as she sat between Tali and Karin. Aria sat in the chair behind them and offered a glass with a few fingers of Serrice Ice in it to Karin.

“Thanks,” Karin remarked and took a sip as did Aria but she also had the bottle and a spare cup for some reason.

“What are you looking at?” Jack demanded when she noticed Cora staring at the tattooed biotic.

Cora went to say something but Miranda came up behind Jack, “Ignore my wife,” Miranda said as she gently slapped her arse to make her wife move, “She’s just pissed her spar got cancelled.”

“It was going to be epic!” Jack told her as she sat and Miranda sat next to her.

“Kasumi is being Kasumi,” Javik told the room, slightly sulking, as his eyes were following the cloaked woman. Everyone Jane had given her tech to could sense her so tended to not notice when she was cloaked.

“Seriously!” Kasumi complained as she reappeared, in her hands was a piece of tech she had never seen before, it was why she had wanted a closer look at it.

“Hey that’s mine!” Peebee complained, just realising it had been taken from her bag, she went to take it back.

Kasumi handed it back without fuss, “I wasn’t going to keep it, I was going to return before you noticed it gone but Javik opened his mouth. Hey I got scans,” she sent them to their engineers, “definitely not Initiative… looks like a data node maybe.” She supplied much to Peebee’s shock as it had taken her a while to figure that out.

“Seriously why did we bring you again?” Ashley complained as she glared at the master thief.

“Because I am the best at what I do.” Kasumi reminded as she sat.

“Hey how did you get all that from an omni-tool scan,” Peebee demanded to know.

Kasumi glanced at the omni-tool Peebee had, “that’s your problem, ancient tech.” She turned back to Ra’yven after giving her time to study the scans. “So?”

“Definitely used for data processing,” Ra’yven answered, “Eezo laced, crystalline micro circuitry, very advanced, so seeing if I can get one and if I can replicate the technology.”

Samantha finished her work and packed up. Gabby and Kenneth settled just as Joker and Edi walked over. “Seriously… not cool guys.” he complained as there wasn’t a convenient seat for him, Edi sighed and gave him her cup, she then lifted him up and moved him to the two seats next to Ashley and James.

Aethyta walked in and made herself comfortable in seating against a wall, her network had let her know they had visitors so she had decided to come, she was followed by twelve other people, most were Asari but one was Turian and the rest were human. Yasma sat next to Aethyta and the other therapists sat near her. They had been told what Jane had planned and although a little unsure they wanted to be here this first time to watch and then help them learn to cope when the whole cluster and galaxy were watching.

“Can you send that to me I’ll go over it later and get it back to you,” a voice carried to them.

Sara stilled as her mind processed, she knew that voice as surely and thoroughly as she knew her twin’s. She put her cup down on the table.

“Coffee?” Liara asked.

“Please,” Jane answered as they walked in.

Sara couldn’t stay still any longer, the door was partially hidden now by the group of people which had come in, she had to see with her own two eyes. She jumped to her feet and raced to the voices. Her eyes took in the familiar messy red hair and the way Jane stood, her eyes then focused on Jane’s face, although there were new scars and the old familiar scars were gone, it was still Jane.

“Jane?” Sara questioned and the moment she saw recognition in Jane’s green eyes she flung herself at Jane.

“Sara,” Jane said pleased as she hugged the younger woman. Her eyes glanced across the room and searched the faces for a moment, realisation crossed her face before she turned her whole attention to Sara.

Sara was fighting to keep it together as Jane’s familiar scent filled her nose, it made her feel like a kid all over again and at the same time it made her feel safe. Jane tightened her hug, sensing that Sara needed it, to help keep her together. Sara held her for a few moments longer before she pulled away, she had cried a little so Jane gently wiped away her tears. “They said… you were dead.” She said trying to understand, she hadn’t heard the rumours of Jane’s resurrection before being put in Cryo.

Jane nodded, “Yeah… David told me…”

“But… how?” Sara asked.

“It’s a long and complicated story,” Jane told her as her eyes took in Sara, she was hiding it well but Jane knew Sara was beginning to fray at the edges. “And now I am going to ask something completely selfish. I need you to be strong, for just a little longer. I tell you my story, you tell me yours, then we can go mourn together.”

Sara considered Jane for a moment before she took a deep breath and nodded, Jane cupped her face and sighed, “I still hate that tatt,” she said referring to the ink on the side of Sara’s face.

Sara laughed a little and rubbed her face to make sure the tears were gone, it had to be Jane because how could an impostor or clone know that personal little moment between them.

Jane pushed Sara back to her friends and gave herself a moment to try to think, most of her plans had centred on Alec being around. She took a deep breath as she realised, she was just going to have to rely on Sara’s story to figure out how she was going to move forward.

“You never said you were friends with Commander Shepard,” Cora accused trying to be quiet but not even getting close to it.

“It never came up,” Sara defended. Jaal jerked in surprise, he had come across a reference to Commander Shepard and read about her but nothing in her records had any link to Sara and the Ryder family.

“In her defence,” Jane said as she sat, “It was classified top secret.”

“And then dad… it just became easier to distance ourselves from Jane.” Sara added although she was surprised to notice that Jane’s friends didn’t seem to be surprised that they knew each other.

Jane noticed the two aliens in the room, “It sucked though.” She said, by the time of Alec’s fall from grace she was already in the Alliance and had started making a name for herself, the brass couldn’t and wouldn’t let her get tarnished by it so had told her if she wanted to remain in the Alliance and have a career she had to distance herself from the Ryder family. Like she said, it sucked but Alec had understood and had explained it to the twins although if they were discreet, they had managed to catch up for brief moments. She smiled at the two aliens, “Hi, sorry if we are a little overwhelming.” She told them.

“I am used to it,” Jaal remarked, it had taken time but he had gotten used to the way Milky Way people were when they were friends.

Jane turned as people walked in carts of food. “Legionnaire, you organised snacks?”

Legionnaire nodded, “All long stories should be told with snacks.” He declared.

“Okay, red cart is for Turians and Quarians only,” a surly man declared, “the large cart is for the Krogan… Grunt if you eat the cart, I will make you regret that. The rest is for everyone else, if you need more let me know.” He and his helpers turned and left.

“I eat a lamp once, once…” Grunt complained as he stood to inspect the Krogan cart.

“Didn’t you also eat a statue?” Samantha reminded him as he grabbed a whole watermelon and put it on a platter, referring to their one year later party.

“I only half ate it!” he protested as he grabbed the two pineapples and then some roots which were on the cart, put them on his plate before he returned to his seat. There were chuckles as people remembered Liara’s fury when she realised, he had eaten it.

“It was Prothean… and… priceless!” Liara reminded him vexed as it was her statue he had partially eaten.

Garrus laughed and went to the red cart, “Excellent… Graxen.” He grabbed two bowels one for Tali, one for himself and returned to their seat. Others stood to get snacks as did the people from the Tempest. Jaal frowned, he only recognised one thing on the cart and that was popcorn.

“Crisps,” Gil said as he grabbed a bowl, “fruit salad, trail mix, nuts and cracker mix.” He explained for the Alien before he walked away.

Jack reached around him and grabbed a bowl of cracker mix and trail mix, one for her and one for Miranda. “Jack… popcorn please!” Jeff begged.

“Seriously, you have to stop playing the cripple card.” Jack said even as she got him the bowl.

“Hey just because I don’t shatter my ribs when I sneeze anymore doesn’t mean I still don’t have a disability.” Jeff stated as he took the offered bowl.

Aria topped up Karin’s glass after she returned with a bowl of popcorn, she then poured a glass for Jane and offered it to her. Liara frowned but didn’t say anything as it wasn’t like Jane could get drunk anymore so it didn’t matter.

“Thanks,” Jane told her as she cradled the glass, she didn’t bother to get snacks as she would be doing most of the talking. While she waited, she considered how she was going to start, putting aside her drink for a moment she typed a memo, reminding herself to go over talking points with Thea on how much background they needed to go over. The two groups settled in their seats and then waited.

Jane took a deep breath, “Okay… before I start… I’m going to ask some questions of your new friends if that is okay,” she asked as she nodded her head to the two Angara. “Nothing too complicated, I just need to know how much you know about the milky way galaxy.”

“Jaal knows the most, Moshae knows enough but the majority of Angara know very little.” Sara explained.

“So, if I was to ask if you knew about the Council?” Jane asked and both Angara nodded, “Spectres?” she asked and both turned to Avitus and then turned back to Jane and nodded. “N7?” Jaal nodded but Moshae shook her head, she had seen armour with N7 on it, knew Sara’s father was one before his death and she knew they were spoken about with reverence but that was about it.

“They are like Heskaarls,” Jaal explained in a term she would understand and Moshae nodded, it also helped explain why Sara was the way she was, her father had obviously taught her.

“Heskaarl,” Jane repeated with a grin as she roughly spelt it, “I will use that term if it helps.” Jaal nodded.

“Okay, basics done…” Jane said with a grin.

“Jane,” Thea complained, “Those points are important.”

“I know, look,” Jane offered her omni-tool screen where she had a list of notes, “see, go over points with Thea to give background for next time.”

Thea nodded glad that Jane was aware that she needed to give background information, if only to make it easier for the Angara to understand as they didn’t really need to do it for the milky way races.

“Alright so… long complicated story, it will be told in three parts with breaks in between.” Jane explained. She glanced to her people, “First person to say something out of sequence, will fight me tomorrow during morning training, I will not be holding my punches and the ten-minute limit… is gone.” No one in Jane’s group met her eyes.

“Now what do you know about me?” She asked.

“You’re pretty legendary,” Jaal stated.

“That hasn’t changed,” James interjected and got a whack from Ashley while the others chuckled.

Jane nodded, “True, but I doubt that whatever you read had my whole story, if it did, you would know how I know Sara.” She told them. “My parents were Alliance Marines, N7’s actually, they retired and moved Mindoir where I was born.” She started. “When I was sixteen Batarian slavers raided Mindoir, they killed or enslaved the majority of the colonists. My dad helped me to get away, fought them off so I could escape. Roughly a week later I was thirsty so I left my hiding spot in the forest, and was found by friends of my parents who had come to search for survivors, their names were Steven Hackett, David Anderson and Alec Ryder.” The Milky way races frowned, that wasn’t known.

Sara’s eyes went wide, to the best of her knowledge Jane had no memories of the attack, she remembered going to school and then waking up in the med-bay of an Alliance cruiser nothing more. “You finally remember.” Sara remarked, her and Scott had been warned not to tell Jane that their father had saved her, to not put false memories in her mind, she needed to remember on her own when she was ready.

Jane nodded, “It’s… a… recent thing though,” she explained. “Apparently it was buried so deep not even Asari Matriarchs realised it was there.” Jane had noticed the anger that had crossed Jaal and Moshae’s face, she didn’t know their history but she knew they were angry about slaves. “Just so you know… Batarians don’t use slaves anymore.” She told the pair and their anger slowly waned. “You can read all about that later,” she added.

Lexi however was a little surprised about the admission that Matriarchs hadn’t been able to find a hidden memory. “I assure you,” Yasma said, “My mother was one of the Matriarchs, if she had seen that memory, I would’ve known about it.” Yasma reassured.

“Yeah, well, the Alliance then had a problem, what to do with me, I was just sixteen, and at that stage I was mostly catatonic. The Alliance just wanted to put me in a group home, David, Steven and Alec argued against it, at least until they had checked to see if there was a will or family who could take me. It didn’t matter though, my parents left a will, if something happened to them before I became an adult I was to go and live with Alec and his family until I was a legal adult.”

Sara’s friends turned to her with unimpressed looks. “Guys, it was deemed classified and the Alliance put a gag order on us.” She explained as well as defended why she hadn’t said anything.

Jane took a moment to take a mouthful of coffee, “Don’t blame her, she did what she was used to doing. Anyway, after my eighteenth birthday I left the Ryders a well-adjusted woman and enlisted in the Alliance as a Marine,” she quickly explained her career, rising quickly in the ranks until she became a commissioned officer. “Then Akuze happened, I was the junior officer in a squad of fifty other marines, we were attacked by Thresher Maws, it was the first time the Alliance had encountered them. We were not prepared, I somehow managed to kill one and get out of the kill zone but I was believed to be the only one to survive the attack.” Jane typed on her tool for a moment.

“I can do that,” Edi supplied and brought up a hologram of a thresher maw which rose up out of the table and hissed and spat at them.

“I read they reproduce via spores, that they are plants… kind of?” Jaal remarked.

Jane nodded, “Yeah… like the platypus they are a weird creature.” She agreed. “Anyway, that got me promoted to lieutenant commander and tapped for N7 training, but only once my wounds were healed and I had passed my physical and mental health checks, meaning I missed most of the Skyllian Blitz but came out of that with my N7 designation. I fought a little in Theshaca Raids, which got me my promotion to Commander. Anderson then scooped me up as his XO for his new ship that was being built. Although at the time I didn’t realise that I had gained the attention of some Spectres, that they had been watching me since Mindoir.”

Avitus nodded not surprised that Jane was aware their interest had gone back that far, Spectres weren’t trained, they were forged, as such they were always on the lookout for kind of people who could be Spectres regardless of age or race.

Jane then went on to explain her Eden Prime mission, how it had been a… first step interview to becoming a Spectre. How she had lost a teammate then met Ashley and gained her as a teammate, then how she had come across her Spectre supervisor Nihlus dead and the witness telling her another Turian by the name of Seran had shot Nihlus in the back.

“Lies!” Avitus declared as he stood.

“Sit down!” Garrus ordered with all the confidence of being a Primarch, he had noticed Avitus glaring slightly at Jane and knew the Turian would take offense at this information, that Seran would kill his friend. Garrus’s tone had Avitus pausing and slowly he returned to his seat.

“Look I get it,” Jane told Avitus, “Seran was important to you. Trust me… at the end, Seran was everything you remember him to be, but in that moment, that Seran was a puppet.” She explained, “Please listen to the whole story.”

Avitus sighed and nodded although he glanced to Garrus, “You know you sounded like a pissed off general or Primarch with that tone.”

There were chuckles, as Garrus scratched at the scars on the side of his face. “That will be explained later.” He explained, even though they had left the Milky Way and he had left his position he was still technically a Primarch, they hadn’t even put retired in front of it.

“Anyway, we managed to save the colony, and secured the beacon. Kaiden was looking at it and it started to glow, I pushed Kaiden out of the way and the beacon grabbed me and downloaded a very confusing and distressing message into my brain.”

“It should have killed you,” Javik remarked, “your primitive brain shouldn’t have been able to handle it.”

“It did kill her,” Karin corrected, “Her armour shocked her heart back into rhythm, she was dead for two seconds.”

“Right, I woke up fifteen hours later, on the Normandy, we were on our way to the Citadel. We reported what Seran did but with no actual evidence the Council sided with him. I was tasked with finding that evidence and that is how I met jaded C-sec officer Garrus Vakarian.” She turned to her friend and smiled, “Our investigation led us to Urdnot Wrex who had been hired by the Shadow broker to take out a rogue agent which led us to Tali Zorah, a Quarian on her pilgrimage and finally to the evidence which proved Seran had gone rogue.”

“I can play that evidence and you becoming a Spectre,” Edi supplied and Jane nodded as she took Liara’s hand to hold it.

Avitus frowned as he recognised Seran’s voice, Jane had not been lying.

“Thea identified the female voice as belonging to Matriarch Benezia, Liara’s mother.” Jane explained before she then launched into going to get Liara mainly because of her knowledge and expertise with the extinction of the Protheans on the hope she could help decipher the message the beacon had downloaded into her mind. Then of meeting the awkward young woman.

Ashley snorted as she remembered the naïve young Asari stumbling over her words and making a fool of herself around Jane. Garrus chuckled as he remembered, Tali cleared her throat but her amusement was visible for everyone to see. Jeff however laughed heartily not bothered.

Liara turned and glared at them, “I will flay you with my mind,” she threatened only to hear her father laugh and others chuckled.

“Come on,” Jane coaxed, “You were adorable.” She told her bondmate who hit her.

“You sleep on the couch,” Liara told her as she crossed her arms.

Jane sighed and continued the story, going to Noveria, dealing with cut throat Corporations before travelling up to Peak 15, getting to the laboratory there and finding and fighting lab bred Rachni. Eventually getting to Benezia and being introduced to horror of indoctrination. Of Benezia fighting it but ultimately being unable to stay in control of her own mind before Jane was forced to kill her. Jane wrapped an arm around her bondmate and kissed her temple. After waiting a moment Jane continued her story about talking to a Rachni queen to find out that Seran wanted to know where the Mu relay was, getting that same information, and then releasing her.

“Wait, you released a Rachni queen?” Drack demanded to know and Jane nodded.

“I didn’t want to be responsible for the extinction of another race, besides she promised to go into hiding, she didn’t want to fight anyone.” Jane explained.

“A Rachni!” Drack reminded her. “Do I have to remind you of what they did?”

Jane frowned, “Do you believe your people have suffered enough for what you did during the rebellion?” she asked back seriously and Drack flinched as her remark hit home hard. “Do I blame her for something she was never a part of, or hope that she could prove us all wrong, that Rachni could be allies, I had to take that risk.” She told him seriously, “I’m sorry I had to use that as a reference but it is close to the same thing.”

“It’s not the same,” Drack argued.  
Jane nodded, “True, Krogan suffered hard for what they did, but they were given a chance, they weren’t exterminated for their rebellion,” she told him choosing a different angle.

Drack glanced to Grunt but Grunt was slowly chewing on a pineapple completely unconcerned with the deep conversation or with Drack getting angry.

“Drack you made your point, now let Jane finish her story and see who was right in the end,” Vetra told the old Krogan. He huffed and grabbed a root from his plate and started to chew on it.

Jane nodded to Vetra who just nodded back. She then explained going to Feros as the Geth had taken over the planet. Fighting off Geth only to find out what they and Seran was after was back at Zhu’s Hope, an ancient creature called the Thorian and getting the cypher after killing it from one of its consumed victims. Then going to Virmire and finding out Saren was breeding an army of Krogan that he had a cure for the Genophage.

“Wrex was furious when Kirrahe suggested that it needed to be destroyed.” Jane explained.

“As he should have been.” Drack agreed.

“That wasn’t a cure Drack, those weren’t real Krogan, they were slaves, to be used and discarded by Seran, I then asked Wrex if he wanted that for his people. He said, his people were tools once for the council and they neutered the Krogan, he doubted that Seran would so be kind.” Jane explained.

Drack paused, Wrex was right, Seran had been known for his rather extreme actions, it wouldn’t surprise him if Seran decided to just slaughter them all once they were no longer useful.

Jane then explained how they had gotten into the base and came across another functioning beacon which she interacted with.

“And died again but only for a few seconds, proving why non-Protheans should not directly interact with Prothean technology,” Karin slid in.

Jane nodded and continued the story, of meeting and speaking to Sovereign, a Reaper forward Scout. Of Kaiden setting up the bomb and then when she had to go after Ashley to help her and Kirrahe she realised she could only help one and both of them said save the other. Explained why she decided to go after Ashley, because they needed to get the AA guns down or they were never getting off planet. Then how she had fought Seran and tried to warn him he was indoctrinated. She explained how once he was hurt enough, he fled, they got the guns down and Joker came and picked them up, but it was too late to go and get Kaiden, they had to book it before the bomb went off.

“Then we were placed on lock down, David helped us break the lockdown.” Jane explained.

“I have footage,” Edi remarked.

“Oo… play it…” Ashley demanded and was chorused by the others.

Jane nodded and Edi played the footage of David decking Udina which raised cheers from her group before he hacked the computer and released the Normandy.

Jane then explained that they knew where Seran was going, that he was going to where the vision was leading them to Ilos.

“Fuck don’t remind me,” Ashley remarked, Garrus, Tali and Liara went pale as they remembered the hellish drop onto Ilos.

“I still have nightmares…” Garrus remarked.

“Come on… it wasn’t that bad.” Jane complained.

“Yes, the drive to Peak 15… that is what I have nightmares about.” Tali added.

“Mine are of that mad dash through the trenches of Ilos,” Liara added and got shudders from the others and Yasma as she had experienced it. She didn’t mention the mad sky car chase on Illium as that would be jumping ahead in the story.

Cora chuckled, “I see Sara and Jane both have driving issues.”

“Hey we learnt from Alec/Dad.” Jane and Sara said together.

“Well you were taught badly,” Cora told the pair.

“Losing track here people,” Jane complained. She then explained Ilos, being able to understand Prothean language and technology, finding Vigil an ancient Prothean VI who told them about the fall of the Protheans about the work they had done to prevent the Reapers getting control of the Citadel again, how they had placed their hopes on the next cycle. Then of the mad dash through the trenches to the Conduit, then instantly being transported to Citadel and the hell that awaited them. Fighting Geth, Sovereign attacking and them throwing everything they had at him, choosing to protect the council and finally her final fight with Seran.

“I have footage of that,” Edi told her.

“Give me the ability to cut the feed Edi.” Jane told her and Edi nodded she started to play the footage of the fight. Jane stopped the footage just before Seran killed himself. “You don’t need to see the rest of that just yet, when you are ready you can watch it but not before then.” She told him. “Something happened, what I fought next wasn’t Seran, it was something else.”

“What?” Sara asked.

“For now, it doesn’t matter, you’ll hear more about them later.” Jane told her and Sara nodded.

“Then what happened?” Jaal asked before he ate some more popcorn, completely engrossed in the story being told.

“The fleet killed Sovereign.” Jane answered and Edi played footage of the fleet taking out Sovereign.

“And a huge chunk fell on Jane’s head,” Garrus added and got laughs.

“I have footage of that.” Edi remarked as she played it.

“Oo… I have a better feed of that,” Samantha remarked as she swapped out the footage for the better one. They watched as the chunk fell where Jane had been, Samantha sped the feed up then put it back to normal time to watch the feed as Jane dug herself out.

“Can I get a copy of that,” Edi asked with a frown, Samantha was right, her feed was better than the one she had.

“Me too,” others asked and Samantha nodded.

“See me later,” Samantha said as she noticed Jane was waiting for them to finish. “Sorry,” she told Jane.

“Anyway, the Council asked me who I thought should be the human representative on the Council. I chose David over Udina, much to Udina’s disgust.” Jane explained.

Ashley shook her head, “Prick.” She got nods in agreement.

“Okay, we can break here.” Jane said, “Bathrooms are over there, we’ll start again in ten minutes.”

Many stood to stretch while some of Jane’s people went straight to Samantha to get copies of that feed.

“That was a good story,” Jaal told her.

“That was just the first part,” Jane promised before she turned to Moshae who was just staring at her. “Do you have a question?” she asked.

“Many,” Moshae answered, “But… I will wait until the end to find out if they get answered.” she answered and Jane nodded with a smile.

“I would say I hope you get to the end and have no questions but… I still had questions so… yeah.” Jane told her, Moshae bowed her head and went to get more popcorn.

Sara walked over to stand before Jane and Liara. “Dr T’Soni…”

“Liara…” Liara corrected.

“Okay, um… I used to debate your papers with other archaeologists about the extinction of the Protheans…” Sara started.

Liara frowned for a moment before she realised that Sara was referring to old papers, since the Reaper War, the fall of the Protheans or their extinction event had been changed into the Reaper Harvest Cycle of the Protheans. “Oh, after this I can give you better papers to read… and books… then we can chat.”

Sara frowned.

“It will be explained, I promised,” Liara told her but she didn’t want to face Jane in the morning for giving out information when she shouldn’t.

“But you were right!” Sara exclaimed as Jane stood and went to use the bathroom to give Liara and Sara a chance to chat.

Liara nodded, “But… there is more to it… so much more… listen to the story, read what I give you. Then we can talk.”

“That threat Jane said at the beginning… it really scared you.” Sara remarked.

Liara stood, “You haven’t fought her recently.” She stretched.

“Nice hickie,” Aria teased as put a fresh bowl of popcorn down on her seat but moved off to chat with Drack.

Liara ignored her and went to use the bathroom as well. Drack was glaring at the young Krogan who hadn’t reacted at all when he got angry at his battle master.

Grunt focused on the old Krogan, “If my battle master needs me to defend them then they are not worthy of being my battle master,” he told Drack firmly. “But… Jane…” he hesitated when using Jane’s name as he didn’t really use it. “Is more worthy than any other, I will serve no other.”

“She…” Drack started to say.

“Old man, so what if she released the Rachni, if they go bad the Krogan have a worthy enemy to fight. Also, that wasn’t a cure… even if it was… we would have been slaves, not better than trained Varren.” Grunt told him truthfully. “Also, if you threaten my battle master again… she will hurt you.”

“Drack… we go back a while, right?” Aria asked, she had even done a few jobs with him before she took over Omega.

“Yeah… I thought only death would have pried you from your precious couch.” Drack told her.

Aria chuckled, “It will come up. You trust my word, right?” she asked him honestly.

“You never cheated me and you always had my back in a fight,” Drack replied.

Aria nodded, “Then trust me now, listen to the whole story and if you are still unhappy with Jane’s actions then voice them. Until then… shut up… I like you… don’t want to see you hurt.”

“You act like a human can actually hurt me, they’re squishy.” He told Aria.

Jane cleared her throat, Drack turned and only had just enough time to brace for it, as he recognised her stance, before Jane headbutted him. He stumbled back a little at the blow and was shocked that the human female had managed it, her power was deceptive. However, he now understood that Jane had a more than casual understanding of Krogan ways and the strength to carry it out.

“Just a friendly hint,” Jane told him before she walked off not even bothered by the backlash of a headbutt.

“He… he… he…” Grunt laughed. “And that wasn’t even a slightly serious headbutt.” He remarked before he went to use the toilet.

“I saw her throw a half serious headbutt once,” Aria told him seriously, “She sent a blood pack battle master flying, knocked him out for a couple of days, and dented his head crest. Just saying.” She warned.

“Fine,” Drack told her, “I promise to hear the next two parts before jumping down her throat.”

Aria smiled and quick as lightening she snatched his shoot gun, “I’ll give it back once we are done.” She took out the thermal clip and tossed it to him before she walked away.

“You okay Drack,” Vetra asked although there was humour in her tone, she was so telling Kesh that a human female had managed to send Drack back with a headbutt, she also wished she had a recording of it. A woman she hadn’t met yet got her attention and smiled as she pointed to her eye. Vetra went to go and find out if the woman had access to a recording of that.

“Did you have to headbutt him?” Sara asked.

“Huh… has no one taught you how to stand your ground with Krogan.” Jane asked.

Lexi stopped Sara, “She’s right, a headbutt if properly done can be instrumental in calming down a situation with a Krogan.”

“And asserting that I am not to be messed with.” Jane added then frowned at Drack, “Really you haven’t taught her the proper etiquette of a headbutt… do you even consider her your krantt?” she asked.

“Of course,” Drack replied a little insulted, “But we’ve been busy… we have our own complicated story too,” he said defending himself. But Jane was right, if he truly considered her to be his krantt; he had to teach her how to headbutt correctly.

Jane turned her back on Drack and winked at Lexi who tried not to smile as she realised Jane truly understood Krogan. Lexi walked over to Karin who was settling herself back in her chair. “You were kind of blasé when mentioning the Commander dying.”

Karin grinned, “You’ll understand why later.”

Avitus walked over, he didn’t seem angry anymore. “Thank you for clearing Seran’s name.”

Jane shook her head, “I didn’t, all I did was prove that he wasn’t in control of his actions, once Sovereign was whispering in his head, he was no longer Seran.” She explained.

Thea walked over to Jane, “Hey I just got a message Isallah asking respectfully for you to call her tomorrow.”

Jane frowned, “Why didn’t the Asari Councillor message me herself?” she asked.

Thea grinned, “I can give many reasons as to why me and not you… but mainly… you intimidate her.” Jane placed a hand on her chest with a look that clearly meant me, intimidating, which caused Thea to snort in amusement. There was more than one occasion when Jane’s unimpressed look had sent people fleeing from her.

“Wait you have the council here?” Suvi asked confused.

“No; they are back in the Milky Way,” Jane told her with a smile.

“So, you have contact with the Milky Way?” Sara asked and Jane nodded.

“Quantum beacons, no lag time; face to face contact.” Jane explained.

“How?” Suvi asked excited.

“Samantha can answer that later, she was one of the people who helped create and perfected it.” Jane told her as she gestured to Samantha and Suvi instantly turned to see Samantha who was settling into her seat.

Ashley leant in, “don’t look now, but the red head is looking at you.” She teased quietly, everyone on the team knew Samantha’s preference for head heads.

“Shut up,” Samantha complained although on the inside she was bouncing around, the woman was a red head, hot and that accent was downright sexy. Ashley chuckled.

Everyone settled back into their seats and after a while they all focused on Jane to continue the story. “Okay just defeated Sovereign, the Council had me and the Normandy cleaning up pockets of Geth resistance. We were investigating an area where three human ships had vanished from. A ship came from nowhere, Joker tried to dodge, to get away but it was so fast. It tore the Normandy to pieces, I ordered an abandon ship, then I had to shove Joker into an escape pod. An explosion threw me out a hole in the ship and into the gravity of the planet we were near, my suit was leaking air, damaged from the explosion.”

“But you were rescued right?” Sara asked and the people on Jane’s side chuckled.

“Oh no…” Jane said as she shook her head, “I died… fell through a planet’s atmosphere and crash landed into snow and ice. But I was dead before that happened.” she explained seriously.

“But…” Sara started to say, there was no way this was a clone.

“Yeah… that isn’t my story to tell and before you ask… you probably realised it but I will say it… not a clone.” Jane stated and there were chuckles and snickers from behind her but she ignored it.

“This is where I take over,” Liara stated, she explained how they were rescued and then how they were disbanded. How she had to pull herself out of her grief because she knew the Reapers were coming and she had to find a way to fight them. She became an information broker, hoping that she would be able to dig in the dark murky areas where respectable people didn’t go. Quickly she became quite well known as an information broker, during that time she came across some disturbing information, the first, two groups were looking for Jane’s body, second the Shadow Broker was one of those groups and he was doing it as a favour for the Collectors and finally how the Collectors worked for the Reapers.

“Fuck me… I thought they were myth.” Lumont remarked.

Liara shook her head, “not a myth, very real.” She then described the mad race to find Jane’s body, getting her body and making the hard choice. Two choices either destroy Jane’s body so that the Reapers couldn’t use it or give it to the other group who had been looking for her. She had dug into the motives of both groups, knew what the other group wanted to try to do, so she chose to give Jane’s body to them.

“To who?” Suvi asked curious.

“To Cerberus,” Liara answered and watched as Sara’s team flinched, they had some experience with the group.

“Human extremists… you gave the Commander to human extremists?” Cora asked.

Liara nodded, “I think I made the right choice.” She explained before she turned to Miranda.

“Right… my turn… Hi I’m Miranda Lawson, I was a Senior Cerberus Operative and I was in charge of the Lazarus project.”

Sara’s team first glanced to her than Miranda, “You’re _that_ Miranda Lawson…” Sara asked.

“You’ve heard of me… I don’t know if I should be flattered or angry.” Miranda remarked dryly.

“They said you were working on a voodoo project; to bring back… the… dead…” Sara explained then watched as Miranda gestured to Jane to indicate what she was doing. “They also mention another project, Overlord…”

Jane shivered as did a few others, “Yeah… I’ll explain that later.” She explained.

“Did they mention anything else?” Miranda asked and Sara shook her head. “I guess I will find out what they were up to later.”

“And then I get to go and crush their skulls,” Jack stated.

Sara turned alarmed eyes to Jane, “There is a story there.” Jane explained.

“I will give you a list of names, Cerberus helped fund part of the Initiative…”

“The Benefactor?” Sara questioned.

“Yes… that is what the Illusive Man was called by the Initiative. but you’ll understand why later. These people were sent to disable the Initiative and put their own people in charge.” Miranda explained.

“Your eyes only don’t trust command,” Sara said with a nod and Jane also nodded.

“If it is Spender… we ousted him.” Drack remarked.

Miranda nodded William Spender was on her list, “Would have been better to kill him.”

Jack cracked her knuckles, “Another skull to crush.”

“We’ll go over all that after we’ve heard Sara’s story,” Jane reminded them then nodded to Miranda.

Miranda brought up an anatomical model and replicated the shape Jane’s body had been in with red, she could have used actual images but she was being sensitive to Liara and Sara. Lexi’s jaw dropped as her eyes took in the damage. “That’s how I got Jane, a few things were in our favour though, the planet didn’t have high gravity, Jane’s shields kicked back in mid fall and held out through most of her crash landing, it was an ice planet which cryo-ed her body pretty instantly and finally, almost no damage to her head.”

“We wonder about that assessment,” Ashley said aloud instead of in her head and quite loudly. She blushed as everyone on Jane’s side of the room plus Sara laughed. “Sorry Skipper… I didn’t mean to say that… out loud.”

Jane waved it away as she too had laughed at the remark.

“Okay,” Miranda drew attention back to herself, “almost two years, four billion plus credits, cutting edge and experimental technology and techniques, we threw everything at Jane.”

“Four billion?” Sara asked in shock.

“The Illusive Man believed that only Jane could get us through what was to come. He was right… worth every single credit to bring Jane back, only Jane could do what she did. He also rebuilt the Normandy, in total he spent trillions of credits.” Miranda explained but at the same time didn’t explain. She turned to Jane indicating for her to take back over sure that the only person interested in hearing about all the medical details was the Asari with the lip tattoo.

“Right… I woke up, the base was under attack, I had Miranda in my ear and bad makeup on my face.” Jane said giving Miranda a good dig, after all she was going to get her back later.

Miranda took a deep breath, “How many times do I have to tell you, that… wasn’t… me…” the others chuckled.

“Anyway, Miranda was in my ear telling me to get up, although I wasn’t completely healed… I had all these gnarly implant scars.” Edi brought up an image of Jane’s face to show them what she meant. “I was healed enough and had to move or else I was going to be killed again…”

“Not so much of a threat… you don’t seem to stay dead,” Jaal remarked and got more laughter.

“You don’t know the half of it.” Karin groaned and got more laughter, Lexi suddenly realised why Karin was so blasé about Jane dying, she would be too if the person in question just kept coming back, in fact, Sara’s track record of dying and coming back wasn’t much different to her legendary older sister.

“Anyway,” Jane said getting back on track, she explained getting into armour, finding a gun and fighting her way through mechs, looting credits and reading any terminal she could access, meeting Jacob then a man named Michaels, who Miranda then killed the moment she saw him as he was behind the mechs going wild. Leaving the base for another, meeting the Illusive man and being given a mission, to investigate the mass disappearances and that a colony was attacked. Investigating the attack on Freedom’s Progress. Bumping into Tali who was looking for another Quarian called Veetor who was on his pilgrimage. Finding Veetor alive and mostly well, that he had survived and had evidence of the Collectors and how they attacked. Letting Veetor go with the Quarians much to Miranda and the Illusive man’s disapproval.

“But not mine or my people’s,” Tali added and got nods, even from Miranda as hind sight had proved Jane correct.

Jane then explained choosing to work with the Illusive man on this, meeting Joker and the new Normandy, meeting Edi a shackled AI and that Karin had taken leave from the Alliance to help. Being sent to Omega to build a team, meeting an old merc named Zaeed who had been hired on by the Illusive man and meeting Aria to get information. Going after the vigilante Archangel, who seemed to be in the most amount of danger, and who just happened to be Garrus, helping him take out three of the gangs on Omega and having a rocket explode in his face.

“It was fun to watch… you lot thinning out the gangs,” Aria said with a grin.

“Glad you said that instead of a rocket blowing up in my face.” Garrus complained.

“Like anyone can tell the difference,” Jeff teased and Garrus grabbed some graxen and threw it at him.

“Hey don’t waste the snacks,” Tali complained as she moved her bowl away.

Jane chuckled for a moment before she went on to explain going after the Salarian Doctor, Mordin Solus who was creating a cure for a plague that was going around on Omega and helping him deploy it. Him coming aboard to help them figure out how to protect themselves from the collector swarms.

“Dude was nuts… handy in a fight… but nuts,” Jack remarked before she popped some nuts in her mouth.

How Jane had decided to go to the Citadel next to meet the master thief Kasumi Goto, the Illusive man had hired her to help. Meeting David again as he had asked to meet, getting her spectre status reinstated and was told to limit her work to the terminus systems until she cut ties with Cerberus. “Anderson supported me though, told me to do what I had to then come back.”

Jane then sighed, “You know, when I got your dossier I thought you were a guy,” she explained to Jack before she started to explain going and getting perhaps the most powerful Human biotic ever, a convict; called Jack, on the space prison Purgatory, it was meant to be an easy release, the Illusive man had paid for it, but the Shadow Broker offered more money for them to capture her.

“That place needed to be shut down,” Garrus stated and Jack nodded.

Jane continued to explain them fighting their way out and breaking Jack out at the same time. “Jack was not happy to see a Cerberus logo on the Normandy’s nose but I managed to convince her.”

Jack sighed, “And so started my decent into becoming a dependable person.” She complained but the others laughed. “Queen of the fucking girl scouts.” She muttered just loud enough to be heard but the grin on her face showed no ill will to Jane.

Jane then started to explain about the larger missions they had done, retrieving the Hammer Head a hover craft tank. “It had shit armour… not a tank,” Grunt complained.

Garrus shivered, “And Jane’s driving… I preferred being in the Mako than the Hammer head, at least you kind of felt safe in it.” He added.

“We were asked to go and check out a Cerberus base which had gone dark.” She explained before she launched into retrieving data and finding out and shutting down project Overlord a project which was meant to gain control over the Geth but failed and created something very dangerous and scarred a mentally disabled person for life.

Everyone on Sara’s side of the room were mortified but Jane explained removing David from his brother and putting him in a safe place where he could heal and be around people. “The Illusive man claimed not to know the true extent of his people’s work. I did not trust or believe him.”

They then went and hunted down a Krogan warlord who had connections to the collectors instead they got Grunt, a tank bred Krogan using Collector technology. “The Illusive man wanted me to hand him over so they could study him I was like… nope.”

“For which I am grateful, although offering a hand while pointing a gun…” Grunt said.

“Hey… you had me pinned to a wall… of course I was going to point a gun at your gut.” Jane defended and got chuckles. Jane frowned, “Horizon… was under attack so we raced to try to stop the Collectors and we got to test all of Mordin’s hard work and research.”

“I have body camera footage.” Edi supplied and Jane nodded so she started to play it.

“Right this is when we met Harbinger for the first time.” Jane added. “I miss that gun,” she breathed as she watched herself shoot the Collector particle gun.

“What the…” Sara remarked.

“A Scion…” Jack explained, “Bastards to fight.”

Samara frowned, “But not the ones I came to dread fighting.” Nhaimi and Jack agreed.

“During this next part I am fixing the guns,” Edi explained.

“Shit I forgot about that one… the Praetorian…” Jane remarked as Edi showed them fighting it. They managed to get the guns back up, they bombarded the Collector ship before it left with a third of the population and then Ashley appeared and questioned Jane’s loyalty.

Ashley groaned, “I was such a dick…”

“Come on Ashley you had cause…” James told her.

“But I should have trusted her like she always trusted me…” Ashley argued.

“Hey… you came around when it counted… that’s all that matters.” Jane told her. “The Illusive man gave me more dossiers to find more people. Two we could find on Illium.”

Jane then explained getting to Illium and being reunited with a less naïve Liara who couldn’t join her because she had her own work to do which should help. Going and finding an Asari Justicar called Samara and helped to prevent Samara slaughtering the security who had taken her into custody, convincing her to work with them and Samara swearing the third oath to Jane.

“Wait… really…” Vederia asked in surprise and Samara and Jane nodded.

“A worthy cause and a worthy person, the oath is still in effect.” Samara explained with a content smile.

“Then it was the Assassin, Thane Krios a Drell assassin, trained by Hanar, the Illusive man hired him on, for nothing, Thane was… an interesting fellow, he… was using his skills to do good in the world.” Jane explained, Thane’s death all these years later still hurt. “Then we had to fix Grunt, he was… getting pretty wild, took him to Tuchanka, Wrex explained there was nothing wrong he was just growing up.” Jane continued with a grin.

“I asked why we couldn’t just get him some Asari dancers.” Garrus remarked and got chuckles.

“Did the rite of Passage with Grunt as a Krantt member…” Jane started to explain.

“Managed to call a Thresher Maw towards then end and managed to beat Wrex’s time.” Grunt said with a grin.

Jane chuckled, “Got him into clan Urdnot and a Shaman threatened me about bringing him back… from a suicide mission mind you. While we were there, I helped Mordin,” Jane briefly explained that one of Mordin’s old students was preforming horrendous experiments on Krogan females, who died… very… painful… deaths. To cure the Genophage for clan Weyrloc, not for the Krogan people but his clan alone. She then went on to explain how they took his research, it was flawed and incomplete, it didn’t appear to have made a cure, but they would not let the sacrifice of life go to waste.

“I then did a bunch of little things with my team mates, making sure they had no loose ends so they could focus on the mission, helped Thane with his son, Garrus to avenge his team, Miranda with her sister, Jacob with his asshat dad, Kasumi with getting back something that was taken from her, Zaeed and Jack with a thing.” Jane said choosing not to explain Jack and Zaeed’s needs as they were kind of hard to sum up with a brief sentence.

“You did a thing?” Sara asked wanting more of a description.

“I founded the blue suns you see, and I was betrayed… Jane helped me… make the man who betrayed me… piss himself in front of his men,” Zaeed explained and Drack laughed, it was; in hindsight; the perfect revenge.

Sara glanced to Jack who sighed, “Jane helped me blow up; the fucking Cerberus base that tortured me and other children all in the name of making stronger biotics.” Jack explained roughly and even tilted her head to show off some of the scars that still marred her skin.

“Good explosion,” Jane agreed and Miranda pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.  
“So that is why you hate Cerberus,” Cora surmised and Jack nodded.

“How does that work by the way… you sleeping with your enemy?” James asked with a grin after all Miranda had already told them she and Jack were a thing so he wasn’t breaking the rules. Jane glared at him and went to open her mouth, “Nope she’s already said they are married… I have not skipped ahead,” he defended even as Ashley gave him a hit when Jack glared a little at him.

“She did,” Jack confirmed after Miranda gave her knee a squeeze to get her to relax.

“Cerberus Cheerleader,” Garrus coughed and got some chuckles at Jack’s pet name for Miranda before she quit Cerberus.

“Miranda… nope… not falling for it…” Jack answered and there were some groans. Although there were some days, she had considered peeling Miranda out of the cat suit she used to wear back before the Omega run, she hadn’t.

“Yeah but there was all that aggressive flirting you two used to do, so… yeah… it wouldn’t surprise me if you had,” Tali added and got nods from the others who had been there. Jack grabbed some popcorn and threw it at Tali who protected her graxen to keep it from being contaminated.

“I helped Samara with an Ardat-Yakshi…” Jane said trying to cut in before it devolved further into a fight.

“You fought an Ardat-Yakshi!” Vederia exclaimed in horror.

Sara turned to Peebee, “hey what’s an Ardat-Yakshi?” she asked quietly as she hadn’t heard about that race.

“Ardat-Yakshi is a genetic condition that shows up when an Asari carrying a specific gene, which is damaged, reproduces. It is most prevalent with Asari/Asari partners however it has been proven to not be exclusive to Asari pairs, or that if you carry the damaged gene, you’ll become an Ardat-Yakshi.” Samara explained, she had managed to get in contact with the Community when they woke, she had then poured over six hundred years of research. Although not cured, the ability to diagnose and treat the condition in the womb had become available. “The Ardat-Yakshi we were hunting was my daughter Morinth,” Samara corrected.

Jane nodded, “She was hunting on Omega, Samara used me as bait to draw her out.” Everyone on Sara’s side turned to Samara to find out if what Jane said was true, that Samara had used Jane as bait, Samara just nodded in answer.

“She was safe at all times… and Morinth’s infatuation charm… it didn’t work on Jane,” Samara explained.

Jane then explained going to get Tali on an old Quarian world, helped her out by taking out a lot of Geth and saving what was left of her team and how she then decided to join them again.

“We then went to a ‘down’ collector’s ship, it was a trap… and a setup by the Illusive man but we learnt a lot like the Collectors were actually Prothean husks, that they were ‘harvesting’ humans and that they had an IFF which allowed them to travel safely through the Omega 4 relay.” Jane explained.

“Wait… Protheans still existed?” Sara asked.

“They were not Prothean,” Javik told her angrily. “They were shells, nothing more than slaves.”

Jane reached back and touched Javik to calm him then gave Sara a look that clearly meant, drop it. “After that I went with Liara and had a face to face chat with the Shadow Broker, got them to switch sides and help us instead of hinder or I would kill them.” No one on Jane’s side contradicted Jane, obviously Liara didn’t want people to know she had been the Shadow Broker.

“You met the Shadow Broker?” Vetra asked shocked and Jane and Liara nodded.

“Idiot tried to kill me… twice, I had to have some serious words with them.” Jane explained before she rested her elbows on her knees and cradled her head. “Next I did a favour for Hackett, go and rescue a Dr friend of his from a Batarian prison.” She then explained finding out the Reapers were planning to invade via the Alpha relay in days, getting knocked out by the Reaper beacon Rho. Waking up two days later and breaking free, trying to warn Aratoht that an asteroid was going to be flown at the relay and they needed to evacuate but she was stopped. Just managing to get away after another conversation with Harbinger, however, three hundred thousand Batarians died that day because she wasn’t fast enough to warn them, delayed the invasion though, buying precious time.

The room was silent, for a moment Jaal wondered how Agga could work for Jane after what she had done to her people before he realised there was still one more part to this story, the answer had to be there or after it.

“So… after that, the Illusive Man told us where we could find an IFF, we went to a derelict Reaper ship Cerberus had found in orbit around a brown dwarf.” Jane explained noticing a Geth ship birthed to the Reaper, getting the IFF, realising the ‘dead’ ship wasn’t really dead, meeting a Geth who spoke. The same Geth taking a blow which rendered him inoperative, setting it so the Reaper husk would fall into the Brown Dwarf, scooping the Geth up and taking it with them. “The Illusive man wanted me to hand him over…”

“An intact Geth… I can see why he would want that…” Vetra remarked and Jane nodded

“I said no… I was curious of the Geth, it said my name. I woke him up, he told us that the Geth who worked with Seran were Heretics, they believed differently to the other Geth, that the ‘old machines’ who we call Reapers were their future while the Geth he was a part of believed that only they could build their future. He then asked to work with us…” Jane explained.

“And you were like cool, since he was one of us now let’s give him a name.” Tali teased.

“And I offered Legion, because he was made up of many,” Edi replied. “He liked it.”

Jane grinned, “He did, anyway, I spent a heap of resources upgrading the Normandy, armour, shields, weapons, fuel, probes, things for the team, things for me, if I was told it could help, I made sure it was done.” Jane then explained clearing Tali’s name for the charge of treason, “right that was when I gained my Quarian name vas Normandy and Tali also gained it as her name.”

“And I wear it proudly.” Tali said firmly, she would never change her name, it was her pride and honour to have the Normandy as her ship name, and it was a reminder to the Admiralty board of what they had tried to accuse her of.

Jane then described helping Legion with some Heretics, “so… no one had loose ends, everyone could focus on the mission, we were working on the premise that this was a one-way mission. We were off testing the IFF, the final upgrade we needed, when the Normandy was attacked by the Collectors.” Everyone on Jane’s side turned to Jeff.

“Right, my story, it was sudden, they came from nowhere, swarmed the ship, Edi managed to coach me past them as they kidnapped everyone on board. She gave me the only way to get them off the ship, she asked me to unshackle her because she had a plan to get the Collectors off the ship, and she needed to be released. So, I did, she locked me in her core and then opened all of the airlocks sucking them out.” Joker explained.

“But you had no idea if she would go postal or not if released?” Cora stated.

Jeff nodded, “True, however, I had spent a considerable amount of time working and talking with Edi, I was confident that she wouldn’t hurt us, that she was our friend.” He told her.

“Coming back to that, we were as ready as we could be so we went straight after them.” Jane told her.

“I have footage of us going through the Omega 4 relay would you like me to play it?” Edi asked and Jane nodded, it would be simpler to show them what happened after they passed through the Omega 4 relay. Kallo’s eyes nearly bugged out of his skull as he watched what the Normandy was forced to fly and fight through.

“Best crash landing yet,” Jeff remarked with a smile and got snacks thrown at him by the team who had lived through that crash.

“While Joker and Edi worked on repairing the Normandy we broke into teams and went to infiltrate the base.” Jane explained.

“I have footage,” Edi replied and Jane nodded, she played them fighting through collectors as one of them used a tunnel to open doors of them breaking into a large room full of chambers.

“Edi,” Jack started to say as she released what was about to happen next, she went to grab Edi to stop her but Miranda was in her way. Jane quickly cut the feed but not before it showed a civilian start to dissolve.

“Hey, hey,” Miranda said as she held Jack.

“Oh… I am so sorry,” Edi told the room, clearly mortified, “I had no idea I had actual footage of that.”

Aria lurched to her feet and went to the bar, she brought back bottles and glasses, she poured drinks for everyone and passed them out, she handed Jack the rest of a bottle which she gulped at.

Jane knocked back her own shot before she turned to Edi who was clearly distressed about hurting her friends. “Edi… lock that footage please.”

Edi nodded and quickly did that, “I am so sorry,” she said as her shoulders slumped and she hung her head.

Jack got up and started to pace as she let the alcohol burn. Miranda went to her although all those who had done the mission were shaken to varying degrees. Yasma went to join the pair to help and was glad they had a chance for a dry run.

It took a few minutes and a mild sedative for Jack to get the room back into some semblance of order. Around the room omni-tools buzzed, appointment bookings.

“Do you want me to lock it all.” Edi asked after accepting her own appointment.

Jane shook her head, “No… just that part.”

Yasma came to a stop next to Edi and placed a hand on Edi’s shoulder, “Um… bring it to me and I will help you edit it so that it won’t trigger anyone.” She offered and Edi nodded. “You are not a machine Edi… and even if you were, it doesn’t matter, you are still allowed to make mistakes.”

“Edi… do you have footage of what happens next?” Jane asked and Edi nodded, she skipped to the part where they were fighting in a biotic bubble maintained by Jack. “We kept following the tubes, knowing we would get to the reason for why and what the Collectors wanted our genetic information for. Because that is what they were doing, breaking us down to our genetics to create… that…” Jane gestured as Edi finally got to the point when they first saw a human Reaper. “A human Reaper, that’s what the Collectors were doing and my mind… was wanted to be in control of it.” She explained just as Edi showed the fight that came after destroying the tubes that fed the still developing Reaper then killing the partially built Reaper. Finally cutting ties with Cerberus, by telling the Illusive Man to shove it, just before blowing the base and returning through the relay.

“Okay we’ll stop here.” Jane said completely aware that some of her people were still very shaken by the footage. She had chosen to finish knowing they were close and it would give them a chance to pull themselves back together before the next part. Jane went to Jack and stopped her from grabbing another bottle, “You know that won’t help.” She told Jack as she returned the bottle.

Jack sighed as she glanced over to Edi who was being comforted by Jeff, still looking completely devastated that she had hurt her friends. “I can’t blame her; I want to but… she really didn’t mean to show that.”

“Hey… you think you have it bad,” Jane nodded to Karin who was visibly shaking still, her therapist was beside her and trying to comfort her. Gabby and Kenneth were also visibly shaken and being tended to by their therapist. Finally, to Ashley who finally understood the horror that would have happened to her had Jane not stopped the Collectors on Horizon, she was being held by James.

“Why are they so shaken?” Sara asked as both she and Lexi joined them

“Karin, Gabby and Kenneth… we broke them out of those chambers moments before…” Jane didn’t finish her sentence, “and Ashley, she just saw the fate that would have befallen her had we not stopped the Collectors on Horizon.” Jane explained. Sara and Lexi shuddered; it had only been a few moments but they had seen the horror of what the Collectors were doing.

“Jack, why don’t you have your tablets on you?” Jane asked, referring to the mild sedatives they all had to use when needed. All of the therapists had given them access to them to help calm them down when they were triggered by painful memories. For the most part they didn’t use them unless they really had to but they had them.

“I left mine in my locker, Yasma hooked me up and said she’ll get me some emergency tablets until I can get back to my locker.” Jack explained. Jane nodded and gave Jack a piercing look about her attempt to attack Edi. Jack sighed, “Bad enough to have that in my memories and my nightmares… I don’t want to see it again… I just wanted to stop it.” She explained and Jane nodded in understanding.

Edi joined them after checking in on Karin, Gabby and Kenneth. “Maybe I shouldn’t play footage until Yasma’s reviewed it.”

Jane shook her head, “The rest of what you have is fine, I want… no… need them to see. Just… not… that…” Jane explained and she nodded. Jane hugged her, offering comfort, Jack sighed and joined the hug, sandwiching Edi between them.

“Before you start the next part… put in a trigger warning.” Yasma told Jane who nodded as both she and Jack released Edi. “I will send out a memo to the other therapists that you will be using footage during the broadcast so they can prepare.” She offered a small bottle of tablets to Jack.

“Hey Jack…” Jane reached into a deep pocket, “We have all these pockets.” She reminded her. “Keep your tablets on you.”

Jack nodded, as she tucked the pills into a pocket. It had taken time but Jack was finally beginning to come to terms with her past. Before she made a commitment to Miranda, she hadn’t really paid much attention to her mental health. However, she had Miranda, she couldn’t neglect it anymore or she would lose one of the few good things to come into her life, and she didn’t want to lose Miranda. Miranda wrapped her arms around Jack and pressed her face into her neck.

Jane pulled a bottle of pills from her pocket, she had noticed Yasma’s pointed look, she wanted Jane to take one before she started the next section of the story. Jane took a tablet and swallowed it as she returned her pills to her pocket.

“Wow… you take tablets now… mom always had to get injections for you.” Sara remarked more surprised Jane was taking tables than anything else.

“It only took six years to get her to actually take them.” Yasma said with a roll of her eyes. Jane chuckled as she went to go use the bathroom.

“So, the people here take their mental health seriously.” Lexi asked.

Yasma tilted her head as she considered her answer, “Mandatory, everyone who came, had to sign a document which included no discrimination and mandatory therapy. It will make sense soon.”

Jack chuckled, “Oh… you so skirted that.”

“Like I would even last seconds against Jane.” Yasma stated, she was a trained Commando, retired yes but she maintained her skills, she could go toe to toe with Defiance security and even win a few times. However, she knew her limits and Jane… was way out of her limit even when she was an active Commando.

Aria walked over to Drack and handed him a bottle of Ryncol, “I see you listened.”

Drack nodded as he took the bottle, he had a very good idea of what was going to be in the next story. “How did you get rolled up in this?” he asked.

Aria grinned, “It will come.” As she went to leave.

“Scared of the Kid?” Drack asked referring to Jane.

Aria glanced back to him and chuckled, “you’ll see tomorrow but I warn you now… she rarely spares seriously, so unless one of us slips you won’t understand.” She answered before she walked off. 

The break between parts two and three were longer but no one from the Tempest minded, they had seen only a fraction of what had happened, and it had shaken them. Once everyone had settled back down into their seats Jane went to start again. “Right… a month later… I was called back to Alliance command to answer for destroying Aratoht.”

“But…” Sara started to say but Jane just touched her index finger to her lips and Sara stopped.

“I dismissed my crew, kind of necessary considering some of them were wanted criminals,” Jack, Miranda, Kasumi and Zaeed pointed to themselves. “I then took, myself and the Normandy which meant Edi back to Earth. Joker, Karin, Gabby and Kenneth refused to leave… mainly because they refused to let me face the music alone.” Jane took a deep breath, “I was then arrested and relieved of duty pending charges.”

“But why?” Sara asked, surely, they believed that Jane had tried, that she had no choice.

“My actions caused the deaths of three hundred thousand Batarians. I had to answer for that,” Jane explained reasonably. Sara just shook her head, unable to find the words she needed to say.

“But you were a Spectre protecting the galaxy,” Avitus stated as he glanced to Thea, three hundred thousand lost… it was considered nothing to some of the more militant and brutal Spectres.

Thea went to speak, to explain why the Council hadn’t stepped in for Jane.

“But I was doing an off the books favour for Admiral Hackett,” Jane reminded them. “It turned into something bigger… yes… but strictly speaking… it wasn’t council business and wasn’t done in council space.”

“Fuck…” Avitus stated, Jane was right, it wasn’t uncommon for Spectres to do off the books operations but it was black ops, if they failed or were caught, they were cut loose.

“Look it doesn’t matter, it happened and it had to happen.” Jane told them honestly.

“It’s not fair,” Sara told her in righteous anger.

Jane shrugged, “True… but life’s not fair and you know that.” She answered, “The brass made a choice between me… a Commander… or a fleet Admiral… the Commander loses out Sara, it’s simple maths.”

“She’s got you kid,” Drack said, “Let her tell her story.”

“The Alliance managed to delay the court martial, the JAG spouting nonsense about trying to figure out what to charge me with, gather evidence that sort of thing.” Jane explained. “I was kept in detention at headquarters pending the hearing, that’s where I met James Vega, he was my jailer.”

James flexed, drawing attention to himself, “The one and only…”

“Anyway, a few months later, James came to get me, the brass wanted to talk, the base was buzzing. We lost contact with long distance bases first, by that time it was already too late. The brass were asking me how to fight the Reapers…”

“I have footage,” Edi said, she had been discretely hacking Alliance command while she was in dry dock, keeping track of Jane and the progress or lack thereof in her pending court martial. So, she had the security feeds of the command room.

Jane nodded, allowing Edi to play it. “We didn’t even have an hour to prepare.” She added as she watched the footage of her talking to the Command only to watch as a Reaper destroyed them all, the feed cut out. “David and I survived that.” Jane explained. “We fought our way through it, made our way to the Normandy, even encountered Cannibals, the Reaper husk of a Batarian, for the first time.” Jane nodded to Edi who played footage of the Batarian husk.

“Got onto the Normandy and turned back to help David on board. He said that he was staying, to help bolster the resistance, told me to go and get us allies, to fight.” Jane grinned, “I reminded him I was relieved of duty and didn’t have to follow his orders. Bastard… he had it all planned, reached into his pocket, tossed me a shiny new set of my tags and said, ‘consider yourself reinstated now go get us allies,’ he ordered.” Jane then turned to Edi and nodded, letting her play the footage she had on the attack on Earth.

“Fuck,” Drack breathed as he watched the Reapers carve a path of destruction.

“Skkut skkut,” Moshae said gently, the Kett were bad but fightable, but how… how did someone fight that.

“Hackett sent us to Mars to retrieve Liara who had been digging through the Prothean archives to find a way to defeat the Reapers.” Jane explained. “Cerberus was there, hunting for the same thing only for a different outcome, and we found out the Illusive man was turning his own people into husks. There was an Infiltration AI called Dr Eva in a Mech body there, they stole the information Liara had found and started to transmit it. We managed to stop the transmission and then had to chase after that bitch to get it back.”

“I flew a shuttle into it,” James added.

“And was thus forth banned from ever driving again, he makes Jane seem like a safe driver.” Steve added and got laughter.

James rolled his eyes, “Yeah suck it up Esteban, you wish you had mine and Lola’s skills.”

Steve shook his head, “No… no I don’t.” he replied as he crossed his arms.

“Then the bitch nearly killed Ashley and came after me, I put her down.” Jane remarked, “we had to leave so we grabbed the body of the AI and gave it to Edi to extract the information from her. Went straight to the Citadel to get Ashley medical attention after all we didn’t have a medical staff on board.”

“Jane… and the rest of you… perhaps you shouldn’t swear too much next time.” Thea told her.

“No promises,” Jane told her as she then went on to explain that Sol wasn’t the only system being attacked, Palaven was also under attack as were many places although Sol was taking the brunt of it. Being offered the only life line by Sparatus, to go get the Turian Primarch, they would be able to actually help her. Jane explained quickly going to check on Ashley and picking up Karin there then going to Palaven’s moon to find the Primarch only he was dead, but there was a new Primarch, they just had to rescue him. Joining up with Garrus, sending Liara back to the Normandy to help Edi and fighting their first Brute, Edi quickly played footage of a Brute and of Marauders.

Drack glared at the footage, in particular the Brute, “What is that?”

“Reaper Husk versions of Turians called Marauders and the Reaper Husk version of a Krogan / Turian mix called a Brute.” Jane explained.

“Still, neither of them are the ones I hated fighting the most.” Grunt remarked and got nods from the others, he was a close quarters fighter, Banshees were everyone’s most hated Reaper force to fight.

Jane frowned, “Toss up…” she told Grunt who nodded as he realised the other force, they all hated to fight a Cerberus Phantom. “Anyway, we got the new Primarch, convinced him to come with us, that was a fight… he did not want to leave his men.”

“Can’t really blame Victus,” Garrus told her.

Avitus shivered, “Which crazy person put him in charge?” he asked.

“That would be the Reapers… besides… he was unconventional and we needed that,” Jane rubbed her face as she glanced to Edi. “Then Edi… decided she was going to do something… risky.”

“I managed to take control of the Infiltration platform the AI Eva used and made it my own,” Edi told the room, “I now had a body, I could be more useful to the Normandy and to the Commander.”

“Fucking freaked me out though,” Ashley said as she remembered seeing the face which had nearly killed her only for it to be an ally.

“Again… swearing…” Thea remarked but she knew she would lose this battle after all; she hadn’t managed to curb Jane’s swearing during council petitions or meetings. Aria snorted in amusement as she remembered watching Thea get all angry when the news broadcasted and sensationalised Jane’s swearing in the beginning. Jane’s response was to remind the galaxy that she was a Soldier, if they wanted a politician, they should have asked someone else, she was going to swear, in whatever language came to mind and met her needs, get over it. The only good thing was, Jane generally only swore when Thea and other politicians really wanted to, and she got away with it, Ashley was cut from the same cloth, all of them were.

Jane then went on to explain the fake response to a distress call from Grissom, meeting back up with Jack who was training biotic kids, Jack punching her. “I believe you then commented on my body… along the lines of… from sex toy to sex bot.” Edi remarked and Jack laughed.

“When asked I suggested keeping her with the talented biotic kids she was training and have them in support roles.” Jane explained.

Jane then launched into the Cerberus attack on Eden Prime, explaining again that the Prothean beacons had altered the way her brain worked, she could understand things others couldn’t. It had allowed her to open a stasis chamber that had been found, within it a real live Prothean, who survived since fall of his people, “kept him from Cerberus control and he joined us in our fight against the reapers.” She gestured to Javik.

“Wait… you’re Prothean?” Sara asked.

“So, what if I am, I cannot help you with whatever is going through your head, I cannot appease your curiosity about my people, I was born during my peoples harvest cycle, I was born for war. I am simply the last of my kind.” He said choosing not to push his luck, he did not want to fight Jane in the morning.

“Then I helped Aria take back Omega from Cerberus, got mercs and Eezo as thanks.” Jane explained simply, even if the process of doing that wasn’t as simple. Edi showed some of the footage from Jane’s body camera of the mess Aria and Jane had fought through and of Adjuncts.

“And when you won, Aria kissed you,” Liara griped.

Aria shrugged, “Had to celebrate… also I knew it would piss you off.” Liara rolled her eyes in response.

Jane then explained meeting Dr Bryson, learning about Thralls then learning about the Leviathans. “Got a live Husk head which bit me,” James slide in and got chuckles.

Jane then continued the story of investigating, rescuing his daughter, before eventually hunting down the Leviathans on an Ocean world. Using a titan to go and investigate them, all that she had learnt, how they created the Reapers and were ultimately, the first race harvested. Fighting to keep them from keeping her, as they were just as interested in her as Harbinger was and eventually talking them into aiding them before returning to the others. Edi showed some of the limited footage they had of the experience. “Where you died…” Karin added, “then your suit kicked your heart back into gear.”

“How many is that again?” Jack asked not so innocently.

“Four,” Karin said grumpily and held out her glass for Aria to top it up. “Don’t worry I’m pacing myself.” She told Lexi who was concerned about the alcohol Karin was drinking.

“Wimp,” Aria taunted and Karin just gave her the bird which caused Aria to laugh.

Jane glanced to them before she continued by explaining the war summit, Wrex demanding a cure for the Genophage, then and only then would his people help.

“As he should have,” Drack agreed.

Jane nodded and went on to explain that some females had managed to survive the brutal experiments of Mordin’s student, they were scooped up and being held on Sur’Kesh to recover. Going to Sur’Kesh and Wrex refusing to just let Jane handle it but eventually he calmed enough for her to handle it, how Sur’Kesh was attacked by Cerberus, to stop them getting a cure. Thwarting Cerberus and meeting the surviving female, a shaman, reaching into a pocket on her leg she showed the crystal Bakara gave her. “Her name was Bakara before she became a Shaman and she gave me this. Mordin had been our inside source, he helped stabilise Bakara until her own body learnt to compensate then spent time figuring out how to make all Krogan free of it.” Jane explained. “It took time so I went and gathered resources and did missions.” Jane then explained hearing that Grunt was doing a mission and could use a hand. Fighting Rachni Reaper husks.

Drack growled feeling better that he was right. Jane rolled her eyes at him and explained how she freed the queen from Reaper control, removed the sour note and got her help in building the Crucible, the weapon Liara had found. She then went on to explain Grunt surviving the fight with the unsavable Rachni husks.

“It was a glorious fight…” Grunt explained, “it was a korbal which I survived.”

“Victory or death,” Jane explained for Sara before she launched into rescuing Turians from Tuchanka and helped to fix a problem they had made, a long while ago they had placed a bomb, they needed to render it useless before it Cerberus used it to kill Krogans and they couldn’t leave it there if the alliance was truly to work. “It was done after the rebellion, centuries before this alliance between Krogan and Turians,” Jane explained before Drack could say anything, “and Victus lost his son in order to ensure no harm came to the Krogan people, that is how serious he was about the alliance.” She added and Drack nodded.

Jane then explained that the cure was finished, how they went to use the shroud to disperse it, being told by the Dalatrass that the shroud was sabotaged, she just had not warn anyone. Going to the Hollows being attacked by husks, Bakara rallying her people after that. Getting into a convoy and warning every one of the sabotage but Mordin had thought it a possibility but knowing for sure was helpful. “Then we got separated and had to escape through the catacombs all the while feeling strong tremors but Wrex is like what tremors but Bakara warned that Kalros, the mother of all Thresher Maws lived in the area, it could be her.” Jane explained, “we fought more Reapers until we got to the Maw hammers and Shroud which was being guarded by a destroyer class Reaper and Wrex was like go strike the hammers, summon Kalros who has been following you since you landed in her territory.”

“I have footage.” Edi supplied.

“Play it, play it, play it,” Jane’s group chanted and Jane nodded letting Edi play the footage first of Jane dodging and fighting at the feet of the Reaper Destroyer as she ran from hammer to hammer to start them striking, then of Kalros coming. Jane’s group cheered as Kalros took down the Destroyer even Sara’s group looked pleased.

Thea chuckled as Aria groaned, “I seriously thought you were lying when you told me that!” Aria exclaimed. “Only my mother could summon Kalros,” Grunt remarked with a grin.

“Huh?” Sara remarked and Jane nodded.

“Yeah, Grunt is my ru'shan, even though we don’t share blood, it’s all legal by Citadel, Human and Krogan Law.” Jane explained and got laughter from her group for a few moments. Jane went pensive, as did her group as she explained how Mordin went up the shroud damaged by the fight, a one-way trip, he died so the Krogan could live. Jane wiped away the few tears which she had shed.

“Saved by a human and a Salarian,” Drack remarked with a shake of his head and Jane smiled as the others chuckled.

“Then, Valren warned us that Udina, who had taken over for Anderson, was shady, we went back to the Citadel to chat to him only to find out the Citadel was under attack by Cerberus.” Jane then described fighting through all that to get to Valren, they, thanks to Bailey, knew where he was. “Valren told us Udina was behind this, then Kai Leng tried to kill him but Thane stopped him and got stabbed in the process. We pursued Kai Leng, first in a sky car, then through the presidium, fighting Phantoms, Cerberus forces and Atlases to keep him from killing the council.” Jane described the elevator shaft fight then finally getting to the Councillors for Ashley to point a gun at them. “I told her Udina was behind this,” Jane explained.

“I said we’ve been shown time and again what happens when we don’t trust and listen to Jane,” Thea added.

“And I believed her so I dropped my gun,” Ashley explained.

“Thea did something stupid, she tried to stop Udina opening the elevators,” Jane explained. “Udina pulled a gun on her and I kill him. I then went to Huerta Memorial to be with Thane as he died, combination of his condition and the wound. But the Salarians were finally in the fight, Valren was going to force the Dalatrass to move.” Jane went quiet for a for a few moments, she wiped her eyes again, Liara kissed her temple.

After taking a deep breath Jane told them about going to the far rim next, the Quarians wanted in but they needed help retaking their home world as the Reapers had ‘upgraded’ the Geth.

“It was our fault they even turned to the Reapers, we forced their hand and killed their people.” Tali explained. Jane nodded and continued, about going to the Geth dreadnought and fighting their way through to get to the signal, which was Legion, “we released him and he shut down the signal, then we shut down the drive core. Legion then explained why his people had turned to the Old Machines. Then we had to book it as the ship was set to explode.”

Jane then explained their next mission taking down a geth squadron, “I was virtually projected into a Geth consensus to shut it down.”

“Wait… what… when?” Ra’yven asked alarmed as she didn’t remember being told that! “You went into the Geth collective mind…” Ra’yven ran her fingers through her hair, showing off her ears, “could that have helped…” she suddenly stopped as she realised, she was awfully close to fighting Jane in the morning if she went any further, “I’m done.” She told the room and there were groans from those around her.

“So close,” Jane remarked before she launched back into her story about ‘killing’ the Reaper infection and shutting it down but that Legion had managed to convince a bunch of Primes to defect.

“That was when we first met,” Legionnaire remarked and Jane nodded with a smile.

“Then we went to rescue a Quarian Admiral who had been shot down,” Jane stated, “we couldn’t save his people but we did save him.” She scratched her jaw for a moment. “After that we had to oust a Reaper Destroyer from Rannoch, used a targeting laser for the migrant fleet to bombard it.”

“They missed,” Tali remarked embarrassed.

Jane nodded, “And even Legion was a bad driver when he had a pissed off Reaper Destroyer on his arse.”

“I have body cam footage,” Edi supplied and Jane nodded to her to play it. They watched as Jane played chicken with a Reaper, so that they could target the ship, “Ruzad Aralakh,” Jane said as the migrant fleet rained down fire on the destroyer and killed it, Drack nodded.

“Judge the eye of wrath,” Lexi told a confused Sara, “your sister knows Krogan.”

Edi continued to play, showing Jane talk to the dying Reaper and giving Legion the go ahead to free his people, the argument between Tali and Legion. Tali started to cry and Garrus pulled her closer as she watched Jane call for a moment, to stop for just one minute to prove they could trust each other, that they could stop the war and they did, they stopped, allowing Tali to tell him he had a soul just before he dispersed his code to all Geth.

“Esu se’lai Legion,” Jane said before she stopped to wipe away tears, she was not the only one. Jane rested her elbows on her knees then rested her face in hands. Liara rubbed her back and everyone waited for Jane to continue. Sara didn’t know how she would feel if she lost three of her friends in relatively quick succession.

“Wars aren’t easy Kid,” Drack told her and Jane nodded.

“I know old man, next we went to an Ardat-Yakshi monastery ran into Samara who was also reacting to the distress signal,” Jane nodded to Edi and then everyone on her side covered their ears as Edi played the footage they had of Banshees. Jane watched as the others listened to a Banshee scream.

“Reaper Husks of Ardat-Yakshi, called Banshees,” Samara explained, even as she covered her ears, between screams and watched the horror on faces of Sara’s group as they watched Banshees fighting but they didn’t have footage of them feeding, not at that time. Jane glanced to Edi who cut the feed of them fighting a Banshees. She hadn’t told them of the Banshees they fought looking for the Leviathan because they didn’t make sense at that time.

“My daughter Rila, she detonated the bomb killing the Banshees there. Jane then stopped me from killing myself, because I couldn’t kill my last daughter, Falere.”

“It must have been hard leaving her behind to come,” Sara told her.

“Oh no she’s here… she got a Geth implant which turns off her ability… to…” everyone on Jane’s side pointed at Samara in shock and a little in glee. “Shit…” Samara swore as she realised, she had jumped ahead in the story, if she just said not at all and left it… she would have safe.

“You and me… tomorrow… no holding back…” Jane told her with a grin and got smiles from Jane’s group and some claps.

Aria smiled at Drack, “You’re in for a treat tomorrow.” She told him.

Jane hesitated as everyone else is grinning as they knew what happened next, she took a deep breath and explained going to have sushi with Joker only to find out it was a trap. There were chuckles from Jane’s friends, they loved giving her shit for this, “They shot the floor, I fell through the glass, I did not break the sushi place!” Jane exclaimed and everyone on her side laughed and Jane let them.

“Only you could fall through a glass floor, fight bad guys with a weapon you had never seen before and do it all in heels and a dress.” Samara said not bothered she was screwed anyway.

“I have footage.” Edi offered and Jane groaned as Edi played what she had pieced together from security feeds.

“Best part…” Liara said as she popped some popcorn into her mouth as Wrex crash landed on top of the car the baddies were using and got a cheer.

Jane then explained going to the archives with everyone and meeting her own evil clone, created by Cerberus just in case she needed ‘spare parts’ who was trying to take over her life, fighting through the archives as her evil clone went to go take over her ship. Meeting a very confused Samantha who had been kicked out.

Samantha held up her spare tooth brush and pressed the button twice. “Broke in, in seconds.” She said with a grin before she returned her toothbrush. Jane then explained fighting her clone and winning and finally getting a little R and R.

“Thea then told me I could find a clue regarding the one piece of information we needed to complete the crucible. She sent us to Thessia to a partially active Prothean beacon they were hiding,” Jane explained. “The Reapers were there.”

“I… have… footage…” Edi said a little hesitantly. Jane glanced to Liara then the other Asari, “I won’t blame you if you leave.” It took a few moments but she got nods so she nodded to Edi who showed footage of Thessia under attack. Lexi and Peebee looked on in horror Jane gave Edi a cut signal and Edi stopped a few moments after letting them see the horror of Banshee feeding. Jane then explained getting to the temple figuring out how to access the beacon only for Kai Leng to take the information and get away. “Samantha and Edi tracked him to Horizon.”

Jane took a deep breath and explained that Horizon was meant to be a safe haven, getting there they realised it was anything but that. “It was a Cerberus base, turning refugees into Cerberus Husks, Miranda’s father was there as was her sister although for Oriana it was against her will. Henry was doing all these experiments for the Illusive man.” Jane explained eventually getting to Henry, who was holding his daughter Oriana hostage.

“I killed my father, saved my sister and since Jane warned me of Kai Leng’s involvement I was ready for him, so ready I even planted a tracker on him.” Miranda said pleased grin.

“Party!” Grunt called and Jane nodded because that is what happened next.

“Epic… end of the world kind of thing…” Jane agreed and those who attended agreed with her.

“It would have been better if you had invited me.” Aria complained.

“I did!” Jane defended and technically she had as she had invited Thea and, in the invite, told her to bring Aria.

“Then we went to Cerberus Headquarters to recover the information about the catalyst. Killed Kai Leng…” Jane explained.

“Not slowly or painfully enough for what he has done… but adequate,” Aria told Jane.

“Got the info… the catalyst we needed to finish the Crucible was the Citadel.” Jane explained.

“As Jane was attacking Cerberus, Reapers attacked and took the Citadel.” Thea explained. “After escaping… I ordered everything to I could to Sol.”

“We raced to earth, it was a shit storm but we managed to make land fall,” Jane told the room and nodded to Edi who showed footage of the battle of London. Short clips only until they got to when Aria joined them.

“There was a chance the world was ending… I couldn’t just sit by and not fight,” Aria explained to Drack who just nodded in approval even as Aria rolled her eyes at him.

Edi let it roll, there was no point in explaining, it was all there, Edi only stopped when Jane evacuated them.

“Harbinger still had one more shot but I managed to miss most,” Jane started to say.

Karin jerked and glared at Jane; she had not missed most of the damage.

“Some… of the damage,” Jane corrected and Karin nodded. Edi showed shaky footage of Jane getting up and although injured she made it into the beam. Jane then briefly explained her trip through the bowels of the Citadel, bumping into the David and Illusive man, killing the Illusive man, opening the arms to allow the crucible to work.

“Garrus and I picked her and the Admiral up, she was in and out of it,” Steve said. “The fleet kept the Reapers off us long enough to get her back to the Normandy.”

“I threw her, David, Legionnaire and Edi into her core which had been turned into a Faraday cage so Karin, Liara and I could work,” Miranda explained.

“I out ran the wave just long enough for Jane and David to be stabilised.” Jeff added.

Karin held up her hand with her fingers spread wide to indicate 5 as this was the fifth time, “she died… again… only this time she restarted her own heart moments after I managed to secure a torn artery supplying her spleen.”

Lexi frowned it wasn’t possible for Jane to restart her own heat.

“Side effects of her resurrection.” Miranda explained, “If you want, I can explain it all later.”

“No, you don’t have to…” Jane told her, “My implants which brought me back, I managed to awaken them.”

“Awaken,” Sara asked not understanding her term.

Everyone turned to Ra’yven, “I can talk now and not get beat up?” she asked and Jane nodded. “Awaken is the term my people used when something that was originally nothing more than a programmed machine turns into something considered a living machine. When inside an organic host it was referred to as… symbiose, the living machines work, live and become one with their host for the betterment and survival of both.” She explained and realised she was getting blank looks from across the room, “I was speaking English, right?” she asked just to be sure.

Karin chuckled not surprised by the blank looks, “You were. Let’s just say for now… lots of weird side effects because Jane did something else… unimaginable,” she explained.

“But we can go over that in more detail later and I would rather you kept that to yourself for now.” Jane told them and they understood her reason for it. She didn’t trust the people outside of this room and this ship, until then, she needed to protect herself. Sara’s group nodded. “I’ll give you access to news clips, interviews, segments… everything you can look at later, all about after the war.”

“So, it worked?” Suvi asked and was surprised no one else had asked.

Jane nodded to Edi and she showed the limited footage they had of the wave hitting Reapers, of them shutting down or blowing up.

“How many were missed?” Drack asked, the old Mercs head had already jumped forward, had guessed the Reapers were the reason Shepard was here.

Legionnaire cleared his throat to draw attention to himself.

“Did you just clear your throat?” Peebee asked, “you don’t even have a throat.” She added.

Legionnaire shrugged, “I saw it in many vids…” he explained. “We retrieved data from Harbinger, in it were orders,” he explained as he brought up the orders.

“Six…” Moshae said in shock and horror, that six were coming here, that they could already be here.

“Took ten years but we built Defiance and then Ra’yven did complicated maths and we used a mass effect accelerator to make up the time.” Jane explained. “We have a miniature Crucible in the nose of the Normandy, we came to end them.” She watched as Sara’s friends let out relieved breaths. “Let’s take a break.”


	18. Chapter 18 ~ Normandy meets the Tempest

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 18 ~ Normandy meets the Tempest.

Jane turned to Drack, “Still want to punch me old man?” she asked and Drack who shook his head.

“You did right by my people…” Drack told her.

“Don’t you mean ours…” Jane corrected, “right I didn’t tell you… my name was changed legally a few times after the war. Twice without my permission, in fact, I’m not simply Jane Shepard. I’m Supreme Fleet Commander of the Allied Fleet, Admiral in the Alliance fleet, Urdnot Jane Siha Shepard vas Normandy, proud member of clan Urdnot, Council Spectre, Alliance N7 and retired Human Councillor.” She explained.

“Human Krogan,” Garrus called as he pointed at her and went to get a beer. A person walked in and handed Jane a box. Jane checked its contents, closed the lid and tossed it to Drack.

“What’s this?” he asked having caught it easily.

“My deal with Wrex, to get his help during the Reaper War, was to cure the genophage for all Krogan.” Jane explained. “You shouldn’t need anything else except for what’s in there but if your scientists don’t understand how to deploy it, or trust it. I can put you in touch with the current clans chief, she’s Wrex’s daughter and her name is Mordin. I can also put you in touch with the Krogan Councillor her name is Urdnot Bakara.”

Drack started to laugh as he realised that his people were thriving in the milky way and so would his people here.

“Oh… that’s going to piss off Tann.” Vetra said with a smile.

“Why do I have a feeling I am not going to like that guy?” Jane said before she smiled, “Thankfully not my problem, they’re Thea’s.”

Thea groaned as she got up and went to stretch her legs.

“Questions?” Jane asked Moshae.

“A million,” she answered, “more than a million,” she corrected.

Jane nodded, “Unsurprisingly, we can give books, papers on the Reapers, they’ll help…”

Moshae shook her head, “no… they’re about you… Jaal said you were pretty legendary… you seem to be more than Legendary.”

Jane rubbed the back of her neck, “Not really… I just did my best and managed to survive through it, I made mistakes, lost friends, watched worlds burn. It’s easy to say that I am legendary when you hear all that I have done, I just think it was luck.” Jane stood and left.

“Don’t take it personally,” Liara told her, “Jane doesn’t see herself as a hero, just someone doing her job.”

Moshae nodded as she glanced to Sara, “Yeah… Sara’s the same. They really are sisters.” She glanced over to Jane who hip checked Grunt out of the way. “She’s his mother?” she asked and Liara nodded. “You Milky way people are weird.”

Liara laughed, “No… just this group.”

“So, you study the past?” Moshae asked and Liara nodded. “So do I.”

“Ah… no… not yet, you can talk after I tell our story.” Sara told her and Moshae nodded.

Jane walked over to Lexi who was helping herself to a juice, “Hey… is Sara going to be able to handle this?” she asked.

Lexi glanced over to Sara, “Ah… I don’t know, she hasn’t really had a chance to grieve. If she can get through it, talking might help.”

Jane nodded, “Thought so…” A sphere floated over to Jane and a hologram appeared, Bakara appeared. “Hey Bakara, how are things?” Jane asked.

“Good, just a quick touch… oh…” Bakara noticed the new Aliens and the people she wasn’t aware of. “Ah… forgive me for intruding.”

“It’s fine, we are just telling stories at the moment, once I hear the situation here in Heleus I will be able to see if any of the plans I have come up with will work.” Jane told her.

“And that is what I was sent to ask about.” Bakara answered, “If you had made contact yet and what your plan moving forward will be.”

“I’ll let you know in a couple of days, is that what Councillor Isallah wants to talk about?” Jane asked.

Bakara hesitated a moment as she considered Jane’s question, “To the best of my knowledge no.”

Jane nodded with a little frown, wondering what the Asari Councillor wanted to chat about.

“So cool,” Suvi said as she watched the sphere work.

Bakara chuckled, “It’s just a sphere,” she told the excited human.

“But this… no lag time, full colour, two-way communication device, is awesome.” Suvi told her.

“Bakara, it’s old tech for you and me, for these guys, it’s new.” Jane told her and Bakara chuckled.

“Also… your clan chief wants to chat.” Bakara informed her.

“I’ve already handed the cure to Drack,” Jane gestured to Drack who was just staring in shock, “clan Nakmor will probably contact you about it as soon as he informs his clan chief and we inform the cluster.”

“That’s not what she wants to chat about, she never thought you wouldn’t give them the cure.” Bakara explained.

“Is she finally going to announce her and Shark being a pair,” Jane asked and grinned as Bakara gave her a knowing look.

“So, you knew?” she asked.

Jane nodded, “The moment I saw them together, I don’t remember, is it a Taboo?”

“No… far from it… as long as they have their child quota every half century who they choose to bond with is their choice.” Bakara explained. Females didn’t have massive clutches every year like they used to before the genophage, their bodies had changed slightly with the genophage and then again with the cure. Clutches were generally no more than ten to twelve and their breeding cycle had stabilised to once every five to ten years and of those ten, a couple were daughters. “I am pretty sure it is a well-known secret, but they haven’t come out officially.”

“And they want to tell their family first. Okay… I suck at acting but I can pretend to be surprised.” Jane told her and Bakara laughed.   
Bakara glanced off and frowned, “sorry… Council is about to go back in.”

“Go… we are just about to hear about the Heleus cluster.” Jane told her.

“Next time sister,” Bakara told her.

“Yes,” Jane said and watched as Bakara cut her feed and the sphere returned to its dock drawing attention to the twenty spheres which were only used for comms.

“Come on… our turn.” Sara said to the group and since more snacks had been delivered Jane went and got herself a bowl of popcorn. Everyone settled back into their seats ready to hear Sara’s story.

“Although I could probably hand you over to those who were awake and in Heleus longer…” Sara started to say.

“No kid… you are the one she contacted, you tell it, you know what we went through,” Drack told her.

Sara nodded and started to talk, first about waking up and Lexi checking her over, hitting the scourge and Cora fixing the gravity, Scott being hurt during his wake up and him being stuck in a coma. Finally, how her father wanted to check out Habitat 7 and them going down in 2 shuttles.

“Don’t you mean… you falling and screaming down to habitat 7, that’s what Liam told us,” Gil teased and got laughter from the others.

“The shuttle was hit by lightning, it broke up, I was free falling through floating mountains, my jump jet was broken, yes I screamed, you would too.” Sara explained before she launched into her first contact with the Kett and having to fight them, coming across ancient tech, exploring the alien landscape, ruins and finally finding her father. How he had a plan to clear the skies, they needed it to get off planet, so they attacked a Kett base that surrounding an ancient monolith and how he had managed it only for a cloud of death to send them flying. “My helmet was destroyed; I was breathing toxic atmosphere. Dad, took his helmet off and replaced mine with his. With his last breaths he made me Pathfinder.”

Sara felt bony hands squeeze her heart and chest, Peebee pulled her close and then glanced to Cora or Lexi to take over for a little bit. Jane went to stand but Liara stopped her, if Jane went to her now, they might as well stop because Sara was not going to be able to finish.

“Right…” Lexi said, “Sara was brought back to the Hyperion, Sam was doing his everything to bring her back to life…”

“She died?” Jane asked.

Lexi nodded, “Yes… she died, she was seizing, her heart stopped, even as Sam tried to connect, keep her alive as well as flush the toxins from her body. We boosted his abilities by hardwiring her to Sam node.”

Ra’yven frowned, hard wiring an AI to an organic, not exactly a safe course of action, “Wait… from what I read Sam shouldn’t be able to remove toxins from Sara’s body.”

Lexi glanced to Cora and then Sara. Sara took a deep breath, “You’ll learn about that later.”

“You okay?” Jane asked and Sara hesitated for a moment before she shook her head.

“But… it’s my story, I have to tell it…” Sara told her.

Jane watched her for a moment, _What is Yasma doing?_ She asked Liara silently through their tech, they didn’t have to meld to talk to each other so Sara would not see dark eyes.

 _Slight nod, let Sara tell the story,_ Liara answered after a discrete glance.

“Okay… but once you’re done, we’re out.” Jane told her firmly, Sara needed to grieve before it became too much to bear and broke her mentally.

“I woke in Sam node; dad was dead and we were two hours out from the Nexus.” Sara told them taking up the story again, she explained coming upon the Nexus only to find it practically deserted. “They weren’t expecting us, we were the first Ark to make it to them.” She then went on to explain how the Nexus had hit the Scourge, people had died and then the chaos that followed which lead to exiling people, to the Krogan being kicked off the Nexus.

Jane cracked her knuckles, Drack chuckled as he read the look on her face which promised pain to the person who orchestrated the Krogans exile. Liara put popcorn in Jane’s hands to give her something else to do.

Sara then moved on to getting given a ship, meeting Vetra, Kallo, Gil and Suvi. Proving herself on Eos, cleaning up the Nexus’s mistakes as she reactivated the first of three monoliths, meeting Peebee.

“You mean me tackling and straddling you,” Peebee corrected.

“And the shameless flirting,” Cora added.

Peebee smirked, “Can’t blame a girl for showing interest, Sara is hot.” She said and Sara nudged her.

Liara reached back and pinched Aria’s, “Hey…” Aria complained. “I wasn’t going to say a thing.” There were chuckles from Jane’s side of the room. Aria ignored them. _Liara… pinch me again and you’ll get punished._

Sara took a deep breath and explained activating the second monolith before finally going to the third which was being guarded by Kett. “Drack made a cool entrance,” Sara stated and got chuckles from Drack and Cora.

“I have footage of that,” Sam supplied, he managed to connect to the holo emitters Edi had used and played it.

Jane nodded with a smile, “Nice… very nice.”

“When the third monolith was activated it opened up a vault. That was where we thought we could find the master reset.” Sara said getting back to her story.

“Did you?” Jane asked.

Sara nodded, “we did.”

“We also explored a bit,” Peebee added, “So pissed I missed the good part you guys found.”

“Then we had to out run a death cloud.” Cora added.

“Shall I play the footage I have.” Sam declared.

“Play it, oh… and Sam, if you have footage that will help the story telling feel free to play it… even if it makes me look like an idiot.” Sara told him and there were chuckles.

There was a moment of silence, “Okay…” he said as he played the footage, he had of the death cloud purging the system.

“Damn,” Jack stated.

“But it also gave us a clue, to a world with a working vault, Peebee then signed on.” Sara added before she went to go check out a site that could work as a settlement. “Bumped into Drack, fought more Kett and convinced him to join us. I was then given the choice of direction for our first outpost, military or science, what would this place be used for. I decided science, we needed resources more than anything else. It’s called Prodromos, our first real step to making a home in Heleus.”

Sara then went on explaining how they went to Aya.

“You mean how you turned up to Aya on fire?” Jaal corrected and got chuckles from Sara’s side of the room.

“We bumped into the leader of the Kett, the Archon, we got away, the Tempest grazed the Scourge and yes we were on fire when the Angara escorted us to land.” Sara explained.

“Sara left her ship, no armour, no weapons, arms up,” Jaal remarked with a little shake of his head.

“I needed to prove I was friendly.” Sara explained, “Same reason why we came mostly unarmed.” She added.

“That’s when we meet Jaal and the Resistance,” Sara went on to explain first going to Havarl to gain the Resistances trust, helping the scientists, realising that something was very wrong with Havarl’s environment and fixing it by turning on the third monolith and reactivating the vault. They then went on to Voeld and rescued Angara from work camps, the info they had helped them take out the command base. “We also reactivated the monoliths and vault. Before we went and rescued Moshae as she was the only one who could get us into Aya’s vault.”

Sara took a deep breath and explained them infiltrating the base, what they found there and Exaltation.

Liara grabbed the cup in Jane’s hand before she shattered it, only when she had calmed did Liara return her cup.

“Oh… Kett are going on my kill list right next to Cerberus and Reapers.” Jack stated and the people near her all nodded.

“Must have been hard, knowing the enemy you’ve been fighting, were once your people.” Jane told Jaal and Moshae nodded.

“Probably just as hard as fighting husks and watching worlds burn.” Moshae told her and Jane nodded.

Sara then went on to explain rescuing Moshae and choosing to destroy the facility, even though it meant killing the Angara in it because they didn’t have the time to save them.

Again, Liara stopped Jane going to Sara. _Do we need to tie you down?_ Jack board casted silently as she placed her hands-on Jane’s shoulders to pull her further back into her seat.

 _I do know some good knots._ Aria remarked with humour but still completely serious and everyone on Jane’s side only just managed not to chuckle or smile.

“We then went to Aya and had a look in its vault.” Sara remarked.

 _Sara, every now and again there is some kind signal coming from everyone on that side of the room._ Sam told her silently.

Ra’yven, who had been looking at her omni-tool, jerked to Sara, “you have a private link.”

“Yes,” Sara answered, “You guys all have signals coming from you.”

Jane nodded, “Later… we can go over both later.”

Sara frowned for a moment but Jane was right. “the vault told us everything was connected, all the planets were connected to a main control, called Meridian. The Archon had an artefact and had been there but he couldn’t access it.”

Sara then went on to explain going back to Voeld and setting up a sanctioned settlement and the start of ice runners supplying water to worlds and places with shortages. Going to Kadara Port, meeting the Exile’s leader Sloane Kelly, getting the thing they needed to find the Archon’s ship. “Again, we turned back on the vault on Kadara and Sloane let us mine sulphur from Kadara for a cut.”

“Smart…” Aria remarked.

“We then found the Asari ark, Sarissa Theris, had betrayed her Pathfinder all to steal maps of the Scourge, cost the lives of civilians and almost had the ark destroyed because of it. After we fought off the Kett and got them on the way to the Nexus, I had Sarissa replaced with Vederia and she left.” Sara explained.

Samara and Nhiami glanced to each other. “Guys… you can hunt her down for her crimes later.” Jane told the pair knowing that was going through their heads.

“Huh?” Sara asked.

“Justicars are law enforcers, they hunt criminals. According to Asari law and Justicar code, Sarissa is a wanted criminal,” Cora explained. “Above all else, her actions caused the deaths of innocents and her commanding officer, the code demands her death regardless of what punishment you decided.”

Sara glanced to Lexi, Peebee then to Vederia, “Justicars… live by a strict code, the code would have driven Samara to allow the security on Illium to take her but only for 24 hours, after that… the code demands she kills every one of them for standing between her and the criminal she was hunting.” Vederia explained.

Sara turned to Jane who nodded. “She told me exactly that she would do that. When I fixed the problem, they were pleased they weren’t dead because that is what would have happened had I not stepped in.”

“I think Sarissa will find a hole and hide the moment she learns Justicars are here.” Vederia stated. “I thought about becoming a Justicar before choosing to join the Initiative, I didn’t think I could live in Black and White terms like the code demands.”

“Our third oath to Jane… allows us to see shades of grey, however, what she did was wrong, regardless of her intentions, she will pay for her crime.” Samara explained.

“Okay… next… we went to raid the Archon’s ship and get the artifact Moshae talked about.” Sara explained finding the Salarian ark attached to the Archon’s ship. That the Archon was perfecting exaltation on Krogans and Salarians, how they released trapped Salarians who went about causing mischief.

“Dude better be dead by the end of this story or I’m stealing the Normandy.” Jack said firmly.

“No need to steal Jack…” Jane remarked.

“Yeah I’ll fly the Normandy right to him so you can beat his arse,” Jeff told her and Jack nodded.

“You done?” Jane asked and got nods so she gestured for Sara to continue.

“We got trapped in an energy field,” Sara said next. “The Archon was there, he injected me with a bio-transmitter then left because the Salarians were making trouble.”

“I then suggested a way to get free,” Sam supplied.

“You stopped her heart!” Lexi reminded Sam, “you killed Sara. You were lucky you could get her heart started again.” She added, to this day she hadn’t quite forgiven Sam for killing Sara or for Sara going along with Sam’s plan.

“It was a calculated…” Sam started to say.

“Don’t calculate with people’s lives Sam,” Lexi told him angrily.

“I understand that more now, I will try not risk Sara’s life again.” Sam told her honestly.

“I released the rest of my team,” Sara said after waiting a couple of moments.

Aria stood and offered Lexi a cup of Serrice Ice and Karin gave her a knowing look as Lexi sipped at her drink.

Sara continued her story, of getting to the Archon’s rooms and looking at the relics, the bio-transmitter let him know about Sam and then how the Salarians set off an EMP to shut down the guns. “Then we had to fight our way out and I had to choose, save the Krogan Scouts or save the Salarian Pathfinder… I choose Drack’s Scouts.”

“You made the best choice you could,” Lumont told her.

Sara nodded, didn’t make it any easier on her to have his understanding, “We then went to Elaaden, where new Tuchanka was, we were told the Overlord… like a Clans Chief, wanted payback on the Nexus. We went, turned the vault back on then went to figure out the strife in the colony.” Sara then launched into the long process of hunting down a remnant core that was rumoured to be turned into a bomb to attack the Nexus. Finding out it was a double cross orchestrated by Jorgal Strux to make Morda seem weak and to replace her. “She beat the crap out of him and then asked me to hand the core over to power the colony, I did and the Nexus and New Tuchanka became allies.”

“Something we both needed to heal the bad blood.” Drack explained.

“Peebee needed help finding a piece of rem-tech she wanted. So, we went to go get it. She bundled us into an escape shuttle and ejected us.” Sara explained.

“So glad that by then you loved me and didn’t stay angry at me.” Peebee told her.

“So very lucky.” Sara told her as she took her hand and they linked fingers.

“Next… we went and found the Turian ark and convinced Avitus to become the Turian Pathfinder. It was where it was meant to be but the world had been torn apart by the Scourge, the Natanus, was too badly damaged to move, we had to send salvage teams.” Sara explained before she launched into reactivating the Remnant tiller which helped them mine helium-3. “Then we did a whole bunch of small missions, trying to help make the cluster more liveable. Once we were ready, and against Tann’s ‘orders’ we made a run on Meridian, a remnant space station.” Sam showed some footage of it.

“We couldn’t land… she had to fall again.” Gil teased.

Sara rolled her eyes and jumped into explaining Meridian Core, how they explored it, turning on first the exploration tower and then the research tower and found out that the Remnant and the Angara were created by the Jardaan. “We then went to the command hub found out that this was only part of Meridian. The Kett started to attack so I, reactivated the stations defences, the Kett got hammered. We then fought the Archon’s Sword and killed them.”

“It was almost impossible to track the other part of Meridian.” Suvi remarked.

“So, while Suvi tried to figure it out I went back to work, helping, missions… it however was satisfying to have Tann admitting we were right and he was wrong.” Sara stated and got chuckles from her friends.

“Once Suvi had the data she needed we went back to the Core and it told us where to find the engine or the Dyson Sphere. That’s when we learnt the Archon attacked the Nexus and took over the Hyperion. He got Scott and was going to use Scott’s SAM implant to interface with Meridian, he then tore Sam from me.” Sara explained.

Liara was not fast enough to rescue the cup in Jane’s hand, it shattered in her grip. No one on Jane’s side jumped at the sudden loud smash, they had been expecting something along these lines. Sara’s group however were shocked by the sudden violent sound. Karin handed Liara the medical kit as Legionnaire went to get cleaning equipment.

“I will take over,” Sam said, “I partially connected with Scott and had him reboot the command reset for Sara’s implant, to keep it from killing her if it hadn’t already, see my bond with Sara was a lot deeper than even Lexi knew.”

“She died Sam… but rebooting, restarted her heart.” Lexi told him.

“Three…” Karin remarked, “Two more and she’ll equal her sister.”

“Please… three times is enough.” Sara told them. “I was locked behind a Remnant door which I had to open, in order to do that I had to interface with it, without Sam’s help. It took three times, was painful but I managed it and finally opened the door.”

Ra’yven stood and walked over to Sara and scanned her then studied the scans. “Ra’yven… we talked about this… it’s good manners to ask and get consent before scanning someone.” Jane told her.

Ra’yven blushed before she rubbed the back of her neck, “right… sorry about not asking.”

“Do you have what you need?” Jane asked.

Ra’yven shook her head, “No… because I don’t have an original scan of her brain… maybe… her brother, can I scan his brain?” She asked Sara.

“You’ll have to ask him,” Sara told her a little confused. “But I can get Lexi to give you every scan she has of my brain.”

“Please,” Ra’yven remarked, “Can I also get scans of the other implants… Sara’s… it isn’t following original designs… she shouldn’t have been able to interface through her Sam implant without him… more so with such different tech… unless…”

“Ra’yven… breathe… slow down…” Jane told her and Ra’yven nodded and returned to her seat although she was completely focused on the scan she had of Sara’s body.

“I finally got back to my people and as they argued over what to do, I went to a nearby console and interfaced with it, when I figured out how to open the door, I learnt I could command the Remnant fleet, I then rallied my allies and we set out for Meridian Sphere.” Sara explained. “The Kett fleet was blocking us, we couldn’t afford to waste time and the scourge was doing weird things, see it’s attracted to Remnant. I suddenly remembered something dad always used to say, when your backs to the wall…”

“Use it,” Jane finished and Sara nodded.

“So, I had Kallo fly close to the scourge, the Remnant were following us and we used the Scourge to helped us take out huge parts of the Kett fleet. Allowing us to get to the sphere and we flew into it.” Sara continued.

“That’s dangerous, Dyson Spheres have variable gravity,” Ra’yven remarked even as her eyes continued to study Sara’s scans, showing her multitasking skills.

“We know that now,” Kallo stated kind of wishing he had that information before they entered the sphere.

“Kallo had to do a flying drop of the Nomad…” Sara continued and her team shivered as they remembered the hellish drive but they also remembered their allies coming to their defence. Sam even showed footage of it taken from the nomad’s cameras. “We got to an entrance and had to fight the Kett guarding it. Eventually we took control and entered, we had to fight our way through more Kett forces. Then we got to a maze, it’s defences were down and Scott used remnant to tell us which way to go.” Sara explained.

“Vederia managed to save Captain Dunn when the ark crashed, Dunn managed to protect the cryo bay, protecting the lives still in stasis.” Cora added.

Sara nodded, “One more gravity well and we were in the heart, the Archon had managed to hardwire himself into Meridian…”

“That’s stupid of him,” Ra’yven remarked even as she continued to look at Sara’s scan with a frown. “He didn’t really have the knowledge of the software or the hardware to do that.”

There were grins from Sara’s side of the room. “Anyway, the Archon activated an Architect and some remnant, we were followed down by others bolstering our numbers, Scott was also connected, he managed to tell us that the Archon was drawing power from conduits, if we destroyed them, we’ll cut off his ability to control. It was an intense fight going from relay to relay to disrupt his control. Eventually I wrested control from him and he was killed by the feedback. Sam was back with me and Meridian was back on line reactivating the terraforming network.” Sara explained.

“Good, pricks dead.” Jack remarked.

“How is…” Sara frowned as she watched the final cut on Jane’s hand heal before her eye’s moments after Liara removed the last fragment of the cup. “What?” she asked.

“Is your story over?” Jane asked ready to whisk her sister off.

“Not quite, I was asked to pick an Ambassador at least until we could figure out a voting system, I chose Moshae.”

“I told her just because she chose me doesn’t mean I’ll favour the Initiative.” Moshae stated and Sara nodded.

“Good for you,” Jane told her, so far from what she had heard the leadership of the Nexus was fractured and more of a hinderance than a help. “More?” Jane asked and Sara shook her head. Jane stood and offered her hand to Sara.

Sara took it and they left the room, no one went to stop them or ask what they were doing, simply because they knew the sisters were going to grieve in private. The two groups watched each other; without their leaders they didn’t know how to interact.

“Hey, Aria…” Drack said into the silence after several minutes. “Never did hear why you are here?”

Aria grinned realising she had a good chance of teasing people, “True…” she told him. _Thea, everyone, play along, I’m going to have some fun._

“And?” He asked.

“My bond mate…” Aria told him and Lexi choked on her drink causing Aria to grin.

“You… bonded…” Drack remarked before he started to laugh, “who in their right mind falls in love with the Pirate Queen?”

The people on Aria’s side cracked up laughing as they were in on the joke, even Thea chuckled because her sanity had been questioned several times shortly after it went public. “The same someone who wants little blue babies,” Aria told him with a content smile.

“You…” Drack started to say before he remembered that Aria had a daughter. “I thought after Liselle…” he stopped as he knew Liselle was a secret.

“Kai Leng killed my daughter, and Jane killed him,” Aria explained.

“So… bond mate…” Drack said but he noticed Lexi’s surprise at knowing the ruthless queen of Omega had a daughter. “I guess even you could find love.”

Aria nodded, “Yep, that’s why I am here as well, no enemies to have to look out for, my kids can grow up safe and my bond mate doesn’t have to look over her shoulder.”

“You gave up Omega… for someone else?” Lexi asked, the Aria before her was at odds with the woman she had known growing up.

“I did warn her…” Jack began, “that being friends with Jane would make her… dependable.”

Aria shook her head, “My bondmate did that to me, Nyreen Kandros planted the seed though, Jane watered it but she coaxed it to grow.”

Drack grunted, “I want to meet this woman who managed to change Aria T’loak, Queen of Omega, into someone who is somewhat reliable.”

Aria grinned, leant forward and rested her arms on Thea’s shoulders before she wrapped them around Thea and rested her chin on Thea’s crest. The shocked faces on the other side of the room had Aria’s side laughing hard.

Edi brought up pictures of Aria and Thea’s bonding ceremony just to let them know Aria wasn’t pulling their chain. Aria and Thea showed off their wrists and their matching bond mate bracelets.

“Councillor?” Avitus asked in query.

Thea nodded, “She’s not lying, we… war time does funny things, it brought us together, an unlikely couple… but somehow we worked, even after the war.”

“When the galaxy found out they were married… so fucking hilarious. Thea was like… yes, yes I’ve rocked up to Shepard’s party with Aria T’loak… also… we’re bond mates.” Jack remarked and the people around her laughed.

“The Council knew though, months before the galaxy found out, I told them.” Thea added.

“But… your children would be…” Peebee started to say before she stopped.

“Purebloods…” Thea said firmly but without any derogatory tones. “The stigma… was mostly gone by the time we left, thanks to the fact that Liara, a well-known Pure Blood, managed to help save the galaxy. It’s completely gone now, the current Asari Councillor has two Asari parents.”

Drack started to laugh, “Aria… gone soft…”

Aria gave him a cold look, “if anyone believes I’ve gone soft they are welcome to come and die by my hand.”

“There is the Aria I remember,” Lexi remarked.

“Aria has 2 faces,” Thea told the room, “outside of gatherings with friends, she is cold and ruthless, with friends… she’s… indulgent within reason. Piss her off, regardless of who you are and she’ll show you why the ‘don’t fuck with Aria’ rule still stands, in fact it will be in your guides under how not to get barred, kicked off, or killed.”

“Only Thea can break that rule… maybe Jane or Liara… but they don’t try.” Nhiami stated and got chuckles.

“Yet,” Jack coughed and the chuckles turned to laughter.

Peebee got up and started to pace concerned about Sara. “Peebee… Sara needs this,” Lexi told her.

“I know… but…” Peebee started to say.

“You want her to lean on you,” Liara told her, “I, more than anyone, knows that. I was where you were, the person I fell in love with was strong, smart, funny, listened but they had a mission, a purpose greater than the two of us.”

“But…” Yasma said joining in as the other therapists started to leave. “From what I’ve seen, Sara’s needed to be strong for a long time, something she doesn’t need to be with Jane. She’ll be more open after this.” She finished before she left.

“Sara is safe with Jane.” Liara told her.

The door opened and in walked Trix, “Uncle Avitus!” she greeted as she walked over to him.

“Trixtan!” Avitus exclaimed surprised and pleased to see family.

“Trix…” she corrected, “I go by Trix…” she explained.

“Trix… why are you here?” Avitus asked as he touched her shoulder.

“Garrus got me a job on the Normandy as the Gunny, I decided to keep it when this came up.” Trix explained.

“Why… you had…” Avitus started to say.

“Same reason you left Uncle; I didn’t want to hide who I was.” Trix told him even as her eyes glanced to Vetra.

“Oh…” Avitus remarked, as advanced as they were, as a race they were still odd around same sexed couples of the same race, Asari simply did not count.

“Yeah… so… you’re bunking with me, you okay with that?” she asked.

“You have a spare room?” Avitus asked.

“Three,” she corrected before she turned to Vetra who was pouring herself another cup of coffee. “Hi I’m Trix.” She said with a smile as she offered her hand.

“Vetra,” she said as she took Trix’s hand and shook it. “Am I staying with you too?”

“Nah… you’re with Garrus and Tali, pity though.” Trix told her as she held on for a few more moments then socially normal.

“Seriously, flirting…” Avitus said trying to be quiet.

“New galaxy, new rules.” Trix replied before she finally released Vetra. “If you ever want a private tour…” she added boldly.

Vetra coughed a little but she had to admit, Trix was bold and sexy. “I might take you up on that.”

“Cool,” Trix replied before she turned to her Uncle and moved him off to sit and catch up.

“Go Vetra,” Peebee told her friend.

Vetra scratched the side of her face, then paused, “Crap… did that actually just happen?” She asked a little in surprised, technically she was fluid when it came to sexual orientation, she tended to only get involved with people who showed interest first and then who also interested her.

“Yes… you got flirted with by another Turian who just so happened to be female.” Peebee told her. “Cute too for a Turian.” She added.

Ra’yven moved next to Karin, “Check this out.”

Karin studied the scan Ra’yven was looking at. Miranda moved to study the scan as well. “That isn’t the same implant that was in the Pathfinder documents. Not even similar right?” Karin asked and Ra’yven nodded.

“Look, here, here, here and here… all these connections, they shouldn’t be possible unless…” Miranda remarked.

“Somehow it’s gained symbiose,” Karin remarked.

“Or this implant was designed to have a deeper connection between host and AI.” Ra’yven remarked as she tied back her hair to show shaven sides and her pointed ears.

“Okay… how do you fit into this?” Cora asked as she nodded to Ra’yven as she one of two people on Jane’s side who hasn’t been introduced.

Aria chuckled, “She wasn’t apart of all this until after the war… go on introduce yourself.”

Ra’yven stood, “Hi… I’m Ra’yven… and like Javik, I’m an Ancient Alien.” She explained.

“You survived in stasis for how long?” Cora asked.

“Thirty-seven million years give or take, the derelict reaper Jane got the IFF from was taken out by the mass effect accelerator my people created,” she explained. “I was in a deep underground base and hidden, during the war it was breeched and I got scooped up with the refugees. I was still with the refugees a year later, unable to talk to anyone. Jane grabbed me and that’s how I got pulled into this group of odd balls.”

“Surely in a year you learnt some language?” Moshae asked.

Ra’yven shook her head, “No… I knew a few names of things but couldn’t talk… language is… an amazing thing but what I considered language and what they considered language weren’t the same. The only reason I can talk now is because I managed to connect my tech with Jane’s and she taught me her language and I taught her mine.”

“Impossible,” Moshae told her.

Ra’yven considered her for a moment, “Image you are speaking in zeros and ones, and I am speaking in double ones and double zeros, 37 million years of language development, heck… Javik how did Protheans communicate?”

“Mostly through touch,” Javik answered, “Spoken language is so… restrictive… but we had to learn to speak aloud so that we could talk to the subservient races.”

“Fifty thousand years between his people and Jane’s.” Ra’yven added. “Elcor, communicate through micro expressions and pheromones, Hanar, strobing bio illuminances. Heck humans, have thousands of languages.” She paused, “My people spoke through our tech sometimes, in pure numbers and equations, some never even used their voice boxes.”

“Does not surprise me… freak,” Jack told her as she flicked Ra’yven’s ear causing her to smile.

“Your tech?” Suvi asked.

Ra’yven nodded, “my people… we were Technomancers.”

Suvi’s eyes went wide with excitement.

“Huh?” Jaal asked as he didn’t know the term.

“Technomancy or Technomancers, can control and speak with machines with their minds, like Sara can control and speak to remnant without Sam’s help. Because we could do this it was completely normal for us to augment our bodies with technology and be in Symbiose with it. I was born with my tech, passed on to me by my birth parent while I was still in the womb.”

“Birth parent?” Lexi asked as that seemed like an odd term.

“No… technomancy…” Suvi told Lexi as she came to stand before Ra’yven.

“How did you know about Sara and Sam’s private link?” Cora asked.

“I could sense it, much like Sam sensed that there were signals coming from us.” Ra’yven explained.

“Show us.” Moshae asked.

Ra’yven grinned as she rested her arms along the back of the couch. “Everyone arms up please,” Ra’yven asked and everyone one her side of the room held up their arms including Legionnaire. “You are aware of spheres, right?” she asked and got nods, “cool,” she said and a moment later a sphere came to float before her. “One sphere… easy…” she glanced over to a wall and more spheres turned on and came to hover before her. Ra’yven started to configure them into moving shapes.

“How are you doing that?” Suvi asked.

“With my mind…” Ra’yven explained before she returned them to their homes. “I can do more, but I am an outlier when compared to my people.”

“Birth parent?” Lexi asked again now that Suvi had her answers.

“My species are hermaphrodites, both male and female, hence birth parent, sire parent,” Ra’yven stated.

“Yeah… that was confusing,” Edi remarked, “Here I am with clothes for someone who for the most part visibly looked female, walk into the bathroom and noticed she was not.”

“Sorry Edi,” Ra’yven told her and Edi waved her off.

“Try filling in her paperwork.” Karin added.

“But you use female pronouns?” Peebee asked.

Ra’yven nodded, “More female hormones in my system, technically I am more female than male but I can still sire kids so… yeah… pronouns don’t really bother me.”

“Okay…” Thea said, “I think we’ve bombarded you with enough information for now. Perhaps some quiet time will let you process and even investigate as you have access to the public infonet before we have dinner.”

There were nods in agreement.

“Moshae, you are with me and Aria,” Thea told her and Moshae nodded and moved to stand with her.

Vetra moved to stand with Tali and Garrus as she already knew she was staying with them.

The door slid open and everyone turned to the door to see a female Salarian walk in. “Sorry for being late,” she apologised.

“Phoe?” Lumont said as he recognised his little sister.

“Lumont!” she exclaimed as she rushed to greet him.

“You’re here…” Lumont remarked.

Phoe nodded, like her brother both had defied their mother, a Dalatrass, him because he chose to join the initiative, her because she decided to help Jane early during the war with Kirrahe. When their mother tried to use the fact that Phoe had been in the STG unit helping Jane, Phoe had countered by releasing copies of communications which showed her mother first demanded she return home, then disowned her for refusing. When this came up Phoe applied and was put in charge of Aramex Arena, her ability as an engineer and a fighter were perfect for the job.

“Why are you here?” Lumont asked, Phoe was their mother’s pride, smart and charismatic she was being groomed to eventually replace their mother.

“It’s a long story, suffice to say, I chose to defy mother and fight in the war,” Phoe explained.

Lumont sighed, “I see,” he told her and realised they had a lot to talk about. “I’m afraid to ask…”

Thea touched his arm, “Survivor lists are available on the public access, you can all search for names of friends and family. Also, once we’ve implemented Jane’s plan, we have death notifications to send out and mail from survivors.”

“Peebee, you and Sara are with me and Jane,” Liara told her and she nodded, made sense.

“Our quarters are rather spartan but you are welcome to our spare room.” Samara told Vederia.

“I’ll be fine,” Vederia told them excited to be sharing with the two Justicars.

Cora suddenly realised they didn’t know how the other Justicar fitted in. “Sorry, how do you fit in?”

Nhaimi smiled, “I became friends with Jane when Samara suggested Jane come and train with me.”

“You trained a human?” Vederia asked in surprise.

Nhaimi nodded, “You’ll understand tomorrow.”

Gabbie and Kenneth moved over to Gil, “You’re with us.”

“Yes!” Gil remarked although for some reason his eyes kept drifting to Steve.

Samantha blushed a little as she came to stand with Suvi, “Hi, you’re with me.”

Karin stood and went to stand with Lexi, “You’re with me.”

“Thank you, do you know any experts in synthetic implants?” Lexi asked.

Karin pointed to Miranda, then Ra’yven, Edi and finally herself. “Yep…”

“That’s great, Drack needs work on his synthetic limbs.” Lexi explained.

“Send me everything you have and I will send it off to the others, we’ll have a look and see what we can do to help.” Karin told her.

“Is that okay Drack?” Lexi asked and Drack just nodded.

“Drack,” Zaeed started to say as he went to join the old Krogan.

Drack smiled, “good for a moment there I thought I was with the hot head.”

Grunt frowned, “the only hot head was you old man.”

“Kallo,” Jeff said as he stood, “You’re with me and my wife Edi.”

That had everyone pausing. “You’re married?” Gil asked surprised.

Jeff nodded, “We married a few months before Jane and Liara did.”

“After the war Jane jokingly sent in paperwork to make me an official member of the Normandy crew. A few weeks later Jane presented me with my tags, documents and my pins.” Edi explained.

“After the war, the council decided that AI were no longer illegal, as long as they obeyed council law, they could be citizens.” Thea explained, “We couldn’t justify keeping them as a taboo when they fought so hard beside us to stop the Reapers. There are rules when creating AI also rules for the treatment of AI.”

“Cora and Jaal,” Ashley said to get their attention letting them know they were with them.

They left the room and got into the turbo lift, most got off at housing block one but some went on to housing block two. They then used lifts to change floors until finally it was just a few people, they got off and split up, Aria, Moshae and Thea broke of first while Liara and Peebee kept walking. 

Liara let them in and without being asked she took Peebee to the room she shared with Jane where Sara and Jane were curled up around each other having cried themselves to sleep. Liara frowned as she noticed Jane was starting to twitch, and realised the white noise wasn’t on, quickly she activated it and gestured for Peebee to follow her out.

“You have a hamster,” Liara remarked as she noticed the cage on the coffee table.

“Yeah…” Peebee said as she glanced around a little restlessly, she started to slowly look at the displays.

Liara pulled the protesting hamster from its cage and put it in the giant hamster run that Boo the third was currently running around in. Liara joined Peebee at what had her attention, Jane’s damaged armour. “You kept it?”

Liara nodded, “Don’t worry, Jane also wonders why I keep it, but she can’t really talk, she has her helmet.”

“And that?” Peebee gestured to Legion’s chest.

“A replica of Legion’s chest, the missing part of Jane’s armour, he used to patch the hole in his chest.” Liara explained. “The Quarians and Geth gifted this to Jane before we left.”

“I hope I didn’t…” Peebee hesitated, “I have nothing against Purebloods,” she added awkwardly.

Liara chuckled, “Don’t worry about…”

“No… you need to know… I have an older sister who is Pureblood, I watched her get treated badly because our mother preferred other Asari.” Peebee tried to explain.

Liara placed a hand on Peebee’s shoulder. “Hey… I’m proud to be Pureblood and things have changed. Come on, lets snuggle with our partners.”

Peebee followed Liara back to the bedroom, Liara took a few moments to remove her boots and Peebee copied before both slid in beside their respective partner.

 _Liara,_ Jane questioned sleepily.

 _Shh…_ Liara replied but Jane was asleep again. Liara dozed, she wasn’t tired enough to sleep so she was the first to react to the buzz of her omni-tool, she carefully left her spot and out of the room before she realised that the buzz meant they had visitors. She went to the front door and was met by Thea, Aria and Moshae. “Hi,” she said as she let them enter, she felt Jane wake leaving only Sara and Peebee asleep in their bed.

“Sorry,” Thea told her but Liara didn’t mind, after all this was the reason their homes were next to each other.

“They are sleeping,” Liara told them quietly as she gestured them in. Aria went and made herself at home much to the Moshae’s amusement.

Jane however had woken when Liara left her so after using the toilet and washing her face she was quietly making her way to the kitchen. “Hey,” she said as she went to get a drink of water.

“Did we wake you?” Thea asked.

“It’s fine,” Jane told her as she walked her glass into the lounge room with the others. Moshae sat on a couch and Jane moved to sit before her on the coffee table as she knew Moshae was here to speak with her. “So… Moshae… you wanted to speak with me?” She asked as it was the obvious reason for her being here.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t wait…” Moshae told her but Jane waved her off as she sipped at her water before putting it down.

“Don’t worry about it, what concerns you?” Jane asked.

“The Reapers…” Moshae started.

“Are my problem, me and mine are experts at taking them down, we’ll handle it.” Jane told her confidently but she noticed Moshae’s frown. “However, that doesn’t mean we’ll not give you every tactical piece of information we have on Reapers, how to modify your weapons to make them effective against Reapers and how to fight their forces as well as recognise indoctrination.”

Moshae was a little more comforted, at least they would know how to fight their new enemies as that is what the Reapers were, their enemies. “And after?”

Jane nodded, “I understand, it was easier to accept the Initiative, they didn’t come here to fight, they came to explore, to build futures.” She explained and Moshae nodded. “Once we’ve defeated the Reapers, we have three options, we can return to the milky way galaxy, unlikely… you’ll understand why later. We can stay and make our lives here, put down roots and make this home or we can go elsewhere, if we are unwanted.”

“And what will you do if you stay here?” Moshae asked.

Jane considered Moshae for a moment, knowing the real reason for her concern. “For starters, we probably will remain independent, I’m not too sure I like the current direction of the Initiative, although I want friendly relations with the Initiative, the exiles and the Angara. As for what the Normandy will be doing, we will act a little like a Pathfinder, exploring, helping and peace keeping as well as pushing the Kett out of the cluster.” She explained.

Moshae released a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“I know we must be scary, we came with a war ship, but we only intend to use the Normandy to fight Reapers, now the Kett and protect ourselves and our allies.” Jane told her. “However, if after giving us a chance, you don’t want us here, that’s fine we’ll leave, but… I would like at least a chance to prove we can be good neighbours.”

“You can at least do that right?” Sara said as she had woken and had come down during their conversation, Peebee followed her.

Moshae considered Sara for a moment, “We gave you a chance to prove you could be friends, I believe we can convince Efra to give Defiance a chance too.”

Jane smiled, “Thank you, I know this mustn’t be easy for you…”

“It hasn’t but… Sara showed us that we don’t have to be alone in the fight.” Moshae replied.

“I thought it would be better hearing it from you, you are in charge.” Thea explained why they were here, Jane was in charge of Defiance and its operations, granted she probably wouldn’t be on board all the time so Thea and department heads would have command but big decisions had to be approved by Jane.

Jane nodded, she understood, “See we have a mandate, something we agreed upon before we even left the Milky Way. You are welcome to read it. It has all of our ideas and core beliefs in it, everyone who came, signed it.”

“That includes the no discrimination thing?” Peebee asked and Jane nodded.

“Ideally, I want to put down roots, somewhere relatively safe, Liara promised me little blue babies… I want them… I’ve earned them. I don’t want to be a tool of war but one of peace.” Jane told Moshae honestly and Moshae felt Jane’s sincerity.

Moshae nodded, “Thank you for your honesty.”

Aria snorted, “One thing you don’t have to worry about with Jane…”

“Even though you were the human representative on the Council you never became a politician.” Thea explained and Moshae frowned as she realised Thea was right, Jane didn’t have the eyes of the politicians she knew, there was no double talk from her either. “I am still learning to be more like Jane but I know I won’t ever get it right.”

“Nor should you,” Liara told her, “you are our Ambassador, you need to be a politician within reason.”

“Damn, and here I was hoping I would be able to get away with swearing now.” Thea said playfully.

“Totally insist you swear,” Jane told her firmly with a smile before she turned her attention to Moshae. “Feeling a little better now?” she asked and Moshae nodded.

Jane woke the next morning and after getting dressed she and Liara went to wake their guests. Jane knocked before she opened the door and glanced in, Sara and Peebee were curled up together. “Sara, Peebee…” Jane called waking them both.

“Hey…” Sara complained as she sat up exposing herself but Jane was not looking at the pair.

“Up… time for morning training.” Jane told her before she ducked out.

Five minutes later a sleepy Sara and Peebee joined them in workout clothes.

Jane pushed the sleepy pair from her home, they met Aria, Thea and Moshae, together they went to their normal meeting spot. They weren’t the last there but they weren’t there first either. Ashley and James were stretching.

“Lola… you want to compete?” James asked.

“We’ll see,” Jane told him as she started to stretch.

“Hey, I noticed that yesterday… why do you call Jane Lola.” Sara asked as she started to stretch.

“Sometimes I give people nicknames, because I don’t believe their real names match them. She always reminded me of my friend’s older sister… hot, tough… so I call her Lola.” James explained.

“And he is the only one who gets away with it, shameless flirt that he is… he is completely dedicated to his wife Ashley.” Jane explained and James nodded. “You’ll also notice that; Ashley sometimes calls me Skipper… again the only one allowed to call me that. Tali sometimes calls me Captain; again, the only one allowed to call me that. The Geth call me Shepard Commander, all of them, I can’t stop them, I tried. Oh… and all Drell call me Siha.”

“Siha?” Sara questioned.

“Something like a Valkyrie,” Liara answered, “Thane gave her that name,” she added.

During their chat everyone else arrived. Jane turned to the gathered people, “Okay, welcome Tempest to our early morning run.” She told them, “There are three levels to this, a brisk walk with Joker, a gentle jog with Samantha and Karin or a hard run with me.” She explained. “Pick what you can do.”

“Why does Joker get to walk?” Peebee asked.

“Jeff has a medical condition, his bones break easily, we’ve mostly mitigated the problem but he can’t do anything too strenuous, so he walks.” Karin explained. “Drack will also walk, you’re scans concern me.”

“I can run…” Drack complained.

“You will walk,” Lexi said backing Karin up.

“Runners… let’s go…” Jane called and the larger group left with her. Aria tossed her sphere up and music started to blast from it as they run.

“Joggers with me,” Samantha called and her small group started to move leaving Drack and Jeff.

“So… how seriously do you want to do this?” Jeff asked as he and Drack started to walk.

“What can we get away with,” Drack asked, his implants were paining him and although he said he could run he was glad the doctors had vetoed it.

“As long as we do at least a thousand steps Jane doesn’t care, so we can go straight from here to the training room and we’ll be fine.” He told Drack. “Take little steps.” He added quietly which caused Drack to laugh.

They made it to the training room just as Samantha’s group got there, “You okay Drack.” Lexi asked.

“Fine,” Drack told her.

“After Jane’s spar we’ll go look at your implants.” Karin added as she made the call to get Aalita here to cover for her when they left. They all walked into the training room, weights were on one side of the room with punching bags and strike poles. Gabby and Samantha walked onto padded mats and after stretching for a few moments they started to spar.

Suvi watched surprised as the two women were fighting using skills that were quite advanced. “Hey, are all of you trained to fight?” she asked Karin.

“After the Collectors… yes…” Karin answered. “It also filled time while we were getting here so our skills were developed. However, there is a big jump between Crew and Team.”

“See I don’t get that…” Suvi remarked.

“We are all crew and team yes,” Karin told her, “but we differentiate for a reason, Normandy Team… leave the ship on missions and do front line fighting. Normandy Crew… stay on the ship… we keep it running and safe for when the Commander comes back and when the ship is in a fight… we fight.”

“But everyone is important,” Jane said as she walked in followed by her group.

“Hope you didn’t kill your sister,” Joker called.

“Almost,” Sara said between panting, she made a mental note to work on her fitness. Samantha and Gabby walked over to Karin their spar was over.

Karin did a quick health check of the two but they hadn’t done anything other than bruise each other. She gave them doses of medi-gel before moving them on.

“So, what are we doing now?” Sara asked.

“Usually we go and train, then have breakfast, then sparring practise but we are going to breakfast now, then Samara and I are going to spar.” Jane stated.

“It wasn’t that big of a slip…” Samara defended as they all left the training ground to go get breakfast.

“You slipped,” Aria taunted.

“Miranda slipped first,” Samara stated.

“But I slipped before Jane made her threat so… doesn’t count.” Miranda argued.

Jane just ignored her friends as she led the way to the mess hall. They got their food and sat at one of the large communal tables they chatted as they ate, getting closer.

“Are you sure you’re okay,” Suvi asked Samantha.

“Fine, Gabby and I weren’t seriously sparring, if we were, we would have been wearing padded protection.” Samantha explained.

“Who won?” Jane asked before she sipped her coffee.

“Samantha did,” Gabby replied a little disgruntled.

Jane chuckled, “You always forget to read your opponent.”

“I know,” Gabby admitted.

“But you are getting better,” Jane told her before she lifted the last of her breakfast to her mouth.

Jane continued to drink coffee as the others finished eating. Once they finished, they all took care of their trays and went back to the training field.

“Forty minutes light training before any sparring!” Karin declared.

James bounced, “Lola… you me… your sister… pull up comp?”

Jane chuckled, “Vega… you know you’re just going to lose to my kid sister.” She said as she walked over to the pull up bars.

“Lose… over these muscles?” James asked as he took off his shirt and put some chalk on his hands.

“Dude… you’re all bulk and no substance.” Jane told him as she took off her shirt leaving herself in her shorts, boots and a sports bra, she chalked her hands and went to the pull up bar.

Sara’s eyes instantly went to the scar on Jane’s left side.

“It’s just a scar…” Jane told her, “So you in or are you just going to stare?”

“Just so you know, if you can’t do at least a hundred don’t bother joining.” Ashley told her as she took off her shirt and chalked her hands.

“Or you can cheat.” Aria told her before she walked over to a wooden dummy to start sparing with.

“Aria, don’t give my sister weird ideas.” Jane called. “On three… three…” all three jumped up and grabbed the bar. “One, two, three, four,” Jane started to call as she did her pull ups Ashley and James keeping time with her.

“They’ll be at it a while,” Liara told her.

“Scars…” Sara said gently.

“You have them too right… we all do…” she told Sara as she pulled Sara closer.

“Jane also wasn’t so into tattoos.” Sara added.

“It is how Jane and Jack bonded.” Liara told her, “And how she honours those she lost.” She pointed to the scar on Jane’s left side. “The ink reads, had to be me, someone else might have gotten it wrong, Mordin Solus.”

Jane grinned as she called out the numbers.

“Thane’s prayer as he died, Legion’s lame excuse,” Liara pointed to a healed bullet wound, under it was, there was a hole; Legion.

“Hey Doc… everyone knows you love the eye candy.” James teased.

“Fifty,” Jane called. “Fifty-one…”

“Shut up Vega.” Liara told him but she didn’t deny her fascination with watching her bondmate. She took a deep breath and went to join the Asari Yoga currently underway.

Jane paused, “Vega you call it out, my sister wants to chat.”

“Okay Lola, fifty-five,” James started to call out, Jane kept time with him.

Jane waited for Sara, “Come on Sara… speak your mind.”

“You said you would probably only get your N7 tattooed,” Sara stated.

“Yeah… I lost my N7 when I was spaced, Jack took me to an artist on Omega to get it back.” Jane said. “Then on Illium she wanted to get me a gift, you know, because we were friends now, something to remember, I choose something Garrus said. The Collector’s killed me, all it did was piss me off.”

“It’s on her right forearm, when she salutes it’s right there.” Jack called out with a smile.

“I like that my mum has my quote on her left forearm. Luck…” Grunt said.

“We don’t need luck we’ve got ammo!” Normandy called back.

“We do that,” Jane told her, “Seventy-five… Vega.”

“Seventy-six,” James called.

“I can fix that,” Jack remarked as she gestured to the ink on the side of Sara’s face before she returned to her sit ups.

“Do you want more ink?” Jane asked not once stopping her pull ups.

Sara nodded, “Yep.”

“I didn’t think I would like getting them but I do. Only thing is I only get meaningful tatts.” Jane explained before she focused on her pull ups.

“One hundred,” James called out eventually and Ashley called it quits.

“A hundred’s my limit.” Ashley told Sara. “Jack is a great artist if you want work done.” She added before she walked off showing off some of the ink Jack had done for her.

“Jack does most of our work,” Miranda added.

Five minutes later James released the pull up bar, Jane did two more pull ups just to prove a point before she dropped the bar.

Jane moved to a different spot to do different exercises. “Okay,” Karin called after checking the time.

Samara and Jane walked off to get into their armour.

“This is going to be awesome,” James remarked as he sat.

“Surely…” Vederia started to say.

“If you think Samara is going to wipe the floor with Jane’s body you are surely mistaken.” Nhaimi told her firmly. A few minutes after everyone settled Jane and Samara came out in armour carrying helmets. Jane put her helmet on and bounced to loosen her muscles. “If I blow the whistle you stop regardless… understood?” Nhaimi asked and Jane and Samara nodded.

“Shields,” Karin called as Aalita rocked up.

Tali set the shields to their strongest setting. “Done.”

“When you are ready,” Nhaimi said before she bit the whistle and braced her body.

Jane charged at Samara and Samara had just enough time to throw up a shield, the clash of powers pushed both away from each other, Cora was shocked as she pushed back from air force alone.

“The fuck,” Sara breathed as she watched Jane and Samara started to spar. Jane and Samara did some close contact sparring before forcing each other back. Samara rapid fired four warps at Jane, two of which she dodged the other two she blocked as she charged again. Samara tried to pull Jane’s legs out from under her, but Jane used a shockwave to change her direction. Samara turned and only just managed throw up a shield to mitigate some of Jane’s charge.

“She just… changed…” Cora said in shock as Jane and Samara started to exchange hits with focused shockwaves on their limbs.

“Wait… are they… those are shockwaves…” Lexi remarked.

“Focused but yes, Jane can punch through a hull and bulkhead with that.” Aria told her.

“Samara is new to this kind of fighting though… get Jane and Nhaimi in a spar… that is…” Tali said before she lost a little of her colour, “BRACE!” she called as Jane’s Nova Flare hit Samara’s barrier. The resulting release of power knocked over many people.

“Jane is really not holding back,” Thea remarked as she used a lift to get back into her seat.

After a few minutes of fierce fighting Jane managed to grab Samara, her biotics rippled over her body.

“Crap!” Drack uttered as he realised what Jane was about to do, a biotic powered headbutt.

Samara desperately tried to break the hold but it was strong. Nhaimi blew the whistle and Jane released Samara and her biotics. “Thank the goddess,” Samara breathed after she tore off her helmet.

Drack flinched when Aria put a hand on his shoulder, “So Drack… do you understand now.”

“Shit…” Drack said gently as he watched Jane help Samara from the ring. “Is she even human?” he asked, he had seen Justicars work once, had watched the way they fought, they were elite warriors, lethal in a fight, he didn’t ever want to have to fight one. The fact that Jane could not only fight equally but even over power Samara in some sections before Nhaimi called it off because it was getting too dangerous, shocked him. On top of that Samara was using skills uncommon to Asari in general let alone Justicars and a fighting style he had not seen before for a biotic, it amazed and scared him.

“We wonder sometimes,” Ashley remarked, “side effects, the implants brought her back but when she woke them up… she did it with a powerful thought… survive… so to survive… she became faster, stronger, healed faster, her biotics grew stronger, heck… she’s even stopped ageing.”

“Your sister is…” Jaal stopped unable to go further.

Many of the people who came with Sara were speechless, “She’s on our side right?” Moshae asked as she made a mental note to warn her people’s leaders not to make Jane into an enemy. Jane helped Samara into the change room to get out of their armour before presenting to Aalita and Karin to be checked over.

Jack gently punched Aria in the arm and together they got up, they were dressed in armour as they intended to do the spar that had been postponed the previous day.

Nhaimi prepared the timer and whistle. “Ten minutes or on the whistle, no lethal moves, you know the rules.” She called before she blew the whistle, Tali quickly activated the shields as Aria and Jack slammed into each other and the resulting power discharge sent them back from each other and the watchers were hit by a wave of air.

Cora’s jaw dropped as she watched Jack and Aria fight, humans could fight equally with some Asari, but not the powerful ones, the fact that first Jane could go toe to toe with a Justicar and Jack could fight equally with an Asari known for being a powerful ruthless fighter, boggled her mind.

“They’re on our side… right?” Avitus asked gently.

“OI!” Nhaimi warned loudly before she put her whistle in her mouth ready to blow as Jack and Aria kept going. She glanced to Tali who nodded, ready to drop the shields if Nhaimi had to run in and break them up. Nhaimi blew the whistle but the pair didn’t seem to hear it. Tali dropped the shields and Nhaimi and Jane charged into the pair, Nhaimi got between them and discharged her charge, blowing the pair apart. Jane grabbed Aria and a limping Samara grabbed Jack.

Nhaimi glared at the pair but both took off their helmets, “Idiots.”

“Sorry,” Jack and Aria said as one.

Nhaimi glanced between the two, “I get you were probably all hyped because of Jane and Samara’s fight but you don’t take it out on each other… you take it out on the enemy.”

“You two aren’t allowed to spar using biotics for now,” Jane told them before she went to Samara and helped her back to Karin and Aalita.

“You two armour off and get back here!” Karin ordered and both jogged off.

“I think it’s just a bruised shin,” Samara told Karin.

Karin glared at her, “I don’t remember seeing medical Doctor in your records.” She told the Justicar.

Aalita scanned Jane, more than a dozen of Samara’s hits had made contact as far as she could tell. Jane held her arms up, letting Aalita get an accurate scan. Aalita went to her kit and brought out a tube of medi-gel, she tossed it to Liara. “Just bruises, apply to both sides of her ribs, left forearm and right shin.”

“Smart move, Liara is possessive of her things,” Aria said as she joined them having got out of her armour quickly. Aalita moved over to scan Aria and start her treatment if she needed it.

Liara ignored Aria and started to apply the gel on Jane’s ribs where bruises were forming. Jane rubbed some gel on her left forearm.

“Your tibia is cracked,” Karin told Samara seriously, “So not a bruise…” Karin stood and walked over to a wall which opened, in it was reusable adjustable stabilising casts and more medical equipment. She grabbed a lower leg stabilising cast in roughly the right size as well as a crutch and returned to Samara. Handing the crutch to Samara she then knelt and started to fit the cast after smearing medi-gel over her lower leg to help the bots along. “I will check in morning; it should be healed by then but we’ll see.” She said as she locked the cast in place. “Use the crutch to keep pressure off it to help healing. Also… I will have you drink an osteo supplement at lunch.”

Samara nodded, “I failed to have a strong enough barrier on my leg I was not expecting Jane to use a shockwave there.”

Karin grinned, “Always expect a weird move from Jane.” Samara nodded in agreement.

“Nhaimi shocked the crap out me, turning a charge into a shockwave like that…” Aria remarked as she rubbed med-gel into her stomach where one of Jack’s hits had managed to penetrate the armour and shields.

“Looked more like a nova…” Jane told her.

“It was a little of both… although next time I will probably just go with a nova,” Nhaimi stated as she took a power pouch and sucked it down, Jane, Samara, Jack and Aria were also sucking them down.

“What are those?” Lexi asked as she picked up one of the spare pouches.

“Biotic slam is what it was nicknamed,” Karin answered, “developed during the war to help quickly recharge biotics during the long fights they were having, liquid carbohydrates, liquid glucose, electrolytes and hydration. Everything a biotic wants and needs during a fight, slam one or two down, good to go again after a five-minute rest.” She finished.

“Can I have the formula?” Lexi asked and Karin nodded.

“The one we use is slightly different to the normal formula but there are probably dozens of tailored brands, hundreds by now in fact. I know that towards the end of the war humans added caffeine and natural stimulants and everyone was slamming them down to just keep going.” Aalita answered even as she typed on her omni-tool to give Lexi the base formula. The Normandy had a very specific blend, it included caffeine as they were one of the first to add it, Guarana for more stimulation, American Ginseng to cut down on fatigue, an Asari brain booster herb and several other Alien herbs to help reduce fatigue, boost the brain and stimulate the body, theirs however also included nutrients for their bots on top of that.

Jane smiled as she finished sucking down her second pouch. “You get used to the weird taste.”

“Still tastes better than our supplements.” Jack stated and everyone nodded.

“Now do you understand why Jane doesn’t spar seriously,” Ashley remarked.

“But was she?” Aria remarked, “I’ve only seen her serious against enemies.”

“Jane had some biotics… but… not that much… and how was she using it for so long with almost no cool down? And Samara was the same!” Sara asked.

“Side effects,” the people from the Normandy replied as one.

“From Miranda’s work?” Lexi asked not understanding.

“No… Jane’s… how she awoke her tech is the reason for our absurdness.” Miranda remarked before she quick fired twelve warps.

“Impossible…” Peebee remarked. 

“Obviously it isn’t,” Liara quickly added twelve singularities to Miranda’s warps before she went back to applying gel to Jane’s ribs.

“Guys… please stop demolishing their sense of reason.” Jane asked as Liara finally stopped applying medi-gel.

Cora frowned, “don’t worry about it, our sense of reason is distorted anyway,” she glanced to Sara. Ashley tossed Jane her tank top which Jane pulled on.

Jack stood and started to move back to the change room since she was cleared, she wanted to fight again, “You and me little miss rich girl… get your blue arse in your armour.”

“Shut up Psychotic biotic,” Liara jeered back even as she followed Jack.

Miranda sighed and turned to Samara and Nhaimi, “Please make sure they don’t hurt each other too much…”

“Why… hot date tonight?” Aria teased.

“It’s our anniversary,” Miranda replied.

“Not your wedding… I was there for that…” Aria remarked, she even got them a gift card at Fornax to celebrate, did the same for David and Kahlee as well.

“Of us… moving in together.” Miranda explained.

Thea smiled before she glanced to Aria. “Don’t expect me to remember that stuff, be happy I remember your birthday.” Aria told her and Thea rolled her eyes although privately she knew better, Aria liked to re-enact their firsts on their important dates.

“But didn’t you forget…” Jane started to say.

“I did not…” Aria snapped; she had pretended to forget but she had not forgotten.

“Okay… Drack let’s go look at your implants.” Karin remarked and the science team stood.

“Coming Suvi?” Samantha asked. Suvi nodded and stood.

“Um… is it okay if we spar?” Vederia asked.

Jane nodded, “No biotics though, you don’t have armour on, maybe tomorrow we can get you into spare armour for full sparring. Samara… please make sure no one hurts each other.”

Nhaimi tossed the whistle and timer to Samara and walked into the field, she gestured Vederia to join her. “If it is just normal sparring, show me what you’ve got.”

“Coming Tali?” Karin asked.

“Implants aren’t really my area… AI is. Besides… Gabby and I have a score to settle.” Tali answered.

Thea turned to Moshae, “So would you like a tour…”

“No… after lunch we’re transforming Defiance into a station, better to tour then, then now.” Jane reminded her.

“Right… so… what would you like to do?” Thea asked as she stood.

“Deep dive of your public records?” Moshae asked and Thea nodded.

“Of course, and I will do my best to answer questions, let’s go back to my home for that.” Thea told her.

Jeff tapped Kallo, “Come on, I’ll introduce you to Charon and can show you the bridge of Defiance.” Kallo nodded and stood to follow Joker.

Kenneth turned to Gil, “Want to go check out the engine?”

Gil smiled, “Why are we still here?” he asked back.

Jane took her group to the lift, “My lab has the best scanning equipment,” Ra’yven said as she punched in the codes to take them to the secure science floor in the military section where she did her work. The lift opened and they walked down a hall with secure work rooms, one was Tali’s, the others belonged to Miranda, Liara, Samantha as well as Ra’yven. She went to her door which opened at her approach, she stood in the door way to override the functions which would have locked the ones without clearance out. Once everyone was in Ra’yven stepped out of the door.

“Don’t touch that!” she ordered the moment before Suvi picked something up and Suvi quickly held up her hands.

“Yeah, be careful, sometimes Ra’yven’s devices explode when they are handled wrong…” Jane remarked with a teasing grin.

“Once… and that wasn’t my fault.” Ra’yven complained to Jane. “So, security is tight in this area unless we bring you, you won’t get into these rooms,” she explained, “Obvious reasons as lot of us have access to classified Reaper blue prints and schematics as well as research that was done during the war. All of which was deemed illegal galaxy wide and was compiled into several safe areas but essentially ignored, not even Illium or the Terminus systems illegally traded it.”

“Shocked the crap out of us too,” Jane remarked, “But no one wanted to go through that again, Reaper carcasses were taken to the nearest sun and dropped into the gravity field.”

“Yeah, only two Reaper objects still exist, became a real search and obliterate mission by the post war survivors.” Karin added. “Helped that there was a bounty on them and no one wanted the Reapers to come back.”

“Harbinger’s archives and the Reaper husk head that lives in the Normandy are all that remains.” Samantha continued.

“Okay Drack… on the platform please.” Ra’yven told him as she gestured to where she wanted him. Drack did as she asked, “There might be a tingle but it shouldn’t hurt.” She activated the scanner, a ring slowly started to rise out of the floor and rise up to scan his body then back down it, the whole process was over in less than a minute.

“Okay done, you can step out and have a seat,” Ra’yven told him as she moved to the table where she brought up his scans, she left the table and moved to another one to let the others look at the organic while she looked at the tech.

“There, there, there, there, there, there, there and there,” Miranda remarked as she pointed.

“Huh…” Karin remarked. “That would explain the constant pain.”

“What would?” Lexi asked, amazed by the scan before it, it was so detailed.

“Krogan have two nervous systems, one electrical based the other liquid based,” Karin explained.

“I know,” Lexi told her.

“The implants don’t take that into account,” Miranda stated. “Looks like whoever installed them didn’t know Krogan anatomy well.”

“At the time they were the best,” Drack defended.

Karin nodded in understanding, “the phantom pain is because your nerves are competing against each other and the signal is getting confused.” Karin finished.

“It can’t be that simple,” Lexi remarked.

“It can,” Karin told her, “Ra’yven’s scanners… are epic.”

“My implants can work as the bridge,” Miranda stated, “will need to modify them a little to accept liquid input. The real problem will be if we can create the implants to accept two types of neural input.”

“Put Grunt in the scanners, make him move and run and then we’ll know how the nervous systems work. Once I know that I can build a synthetic replica,” Ra’yven stated before she grabbed what was in front of her and threw it out. “Boring old tech… Ooo…” she grabbed a sphere and threw it over her shoulder as she mentally had it call Glitch.

Glitch’s hologram appeared, “Hello Ra’yven.”

“Hey Glitch, I was wondering if I could get copies of all plans and designs you have for Councillor Debra’s synthetic limbs.” Ra’yven asked as she turned away from her table. Glitch noticed what Karin was looking at and leant in to study the scans of Drack.

“Mm… yes… my implants could work here, modified to fit a Krogan of course but they will work.” Glitch remarked before she stood up and started to type on her omni-tool to send Ra’yven everything she had. “I can also send you everything that’s been researched about them.”

“Seriously, they are still studying your implants,” Jane asked.

Glitch nodded, “Hastily designed and thrown together with what Tammy and I could find, I don’t know why people are so fascinated by them.” she explained.

“Because they are awesome!” Ra’yven explained. “I’ve been looking forward to getting a chance to have a poke around at these.”

Glitch’s eyes flaps moved into a pleased position, “By all means… try to improve them…”

“Dare accepted, I’ll send through what I come up with.” Ra’yven told her.

“Shepard Commander,” Glitch greeted then glanced off. “I would love to stay and brain storm but we are about to start petitions.”

“Thanks Glitch, let the others know I’ll have our plan organised by dinner tomorrow.” Jane told her. “Oh, also we are transforming this afternoon, if you guys want to watch, I’ll give you an hours’ notice before we go.”

“Excellent, means I might be able speed things up a little… I mean I know I want to see the fruition of all of our hard work building it. Also, we have a little pool down as to what you plan to do.” Glitch said with a smile in her voice before she disconnected.

“Um…” Lexi started to say.

“That was Glitch, Geth representative on the Council,” Jane explained.

“You just called…” Suvi started to say.

“Glitch and I are friends, of course I call her, besides, she had the most up to date plans for her implants,” Ra’yven told them as she typed, Drack’s scans slid back into the table and Debra’s original scans came up.

“Um… just… how did he…” Suvi started to ask.

“She…” Jane, Karin, Edi and Miranda corrected.

“She,” Suvi corrected, “there are female Geth?” she asked and the others nodded. “How did she get the name Glitch?”

Jane and the others grinned, “Debra… Councillor Debra, she took over after me, named her during the war when the Geth finally joined us.” Jane started to explain. “Glitch was one of the first Geth to join a militia squad during the war, a mixed group of mainly fighting civilians, civilian support and two alliance marines.” She paused for a moment, “Anyway, they were stripping some tech down and she made a mistake and fried some of her circuits. While she was working around the problem, Debra was with her and just gently patting her chest said don’t worry it’s just a glitch, but Glitch only heard part of it, all she heard was don’t worry Glitch.”

“And since most Geth imprint on a name,” Edi stated, “She became Glitch…”

Jane sighed, “There are some Geth with some really weird names.”

“Anyway, back to Glitch’s designs,” Ra’yven said to bring them back to her, “Version one,” she said as she brought up the plans and then started to over lay each redesign and concept design.

“Wow,” Lexi remarked and she now understood why people were fascinated.

“Both of you will have to be taught the correct maintenance but I would like to use a modified version of these.” Ra’yven told them and got nods.

“Is it complicated?” Lexi asked.

“Actually no, but it is specific, Glitch wanted Debra to be able to take care of her limbs herself if something happened to her during the wave, if the faraday cages failed to protect them. At least until she could get appropriate replacements or cloned limbs.” Ra’yven answered.

“But Debra refused and kept the limbs Glitch made for her, forcing Glitch to keep working on and refining her designs.” Jane added, “Always funny when someone tried to argue with her about something stupid post war and she would just use her left arm to rub her forehead, reminding them that she was a war hero.”

Drack chuckled.

“Jane’s glares did the same, remember when that Salarian peed themselves when Jane glared at him during petitions?” Miranda asked and got laughter in response.

“He was being an idiot and he knew it, I just saved us a couple of hours of arguing with the slimy little bureaucrat.” Jane defended.

“Okay, that will take me about a week to design once I have Grunt’s scans and then a week or two to build… so… three weeks…” Ra’yven calculated.

“That will give me time to modify implants.” Miranda remarked.

“And me time to work with Aalita and Edi, figuring out how to fix the nerve damage and how to remove the redundant tech.” Karin added.

Jane nodded, that was a pretty good window for them to get their plan done in as well.

“While he is under, we can fix his organic knee and replace missing organs with clone ones.” Karin added. “Should make you feel a couple hundred years younger when you have a new liver in your body.”

“Then you can help me teach my sister how to headbutt.” Jane told him.

“Okay Jane… your turn, on the scanner.” Ra’yven told her as Karin saved Drack’s scans and took a copy for herself, Miranda and Edi did so also. Karin then closed down Drack’s scans.

Jane stood on the scanner and Ra’yven initiated it.

“Okay first we’ll start with the scans I have of Jane after I finished putting her back together, forgive their quality,” Miranda told them as she brought up.

“Wow,” Suvi remarked.

“We started with her brain, if we couldn’t reawaken that then there was no point in continuing.” Miranda began. “Even though we focused on her brain we also had to wake up her organs, to support her brain and when we finally got the brain and organs back up and running, we went to work fixing her.” Miranda showed the stages in a fast-forwarded way.

Karin smiled and brought up the scans she had done after the war. “These are the scans I did after the war, again forgive their quality.”

Lexi blinked in shock, although the tech was the same that Miranda had put into Jane’s body it was now reacting strangely.

“You can’t see, the scanners weren’t sophisticated enough then, but the micro-bots Miranda used to help reanimate Jane were programmed to deactivate when they had done their jobs. They were awake now; Jane was healing faster than anyone anticipated.” Karin added.

“Yeah, there were bets on whether I would live or die,” Jane added. “Normandy personal racked in the credits.”

“And it became common knowledge, never bet against Shepard.” Samantha added, “I mean we all knew, but the galaxy did not.”

“Seriously… after everything she did, they hadn’t figured it out?” Sara asked and Samantha nodded.

“And these are Jane’s scans now,” Ra’yven removed Karin’s scan and put up Jane’s current scans.

Lexi studied the scans for long moments, there was nothing even remotely similar to the tech Miranda had put in Jane. The implants which fixed Jane’s spine were now integrated into her bones, micro-bots saturated her body, new implants had been built in some of her organs and finally what was her biotic implant was gone.

“Wait… she wasn’t using an amp?” Lexi asked.

Jane nodded, “Don’t need it. It was one of the first things they did after they built a micro-bot production unit in my liver. Biotic implants were flawed, the tech found a better way to allow us to use biotics but in a very natural way.”

“No one considered Team Normandy and who is biotic needs it.”

Sara hesitated for a moment but could this be the way to save her mother. “Could your tech cure end stage E.N.D.S?”

Jane frowned for a moment before she shrugged.

Sara took a deep breath, “Mom’s not really dead, Dad put her in cryo just before she died, he hoped that a new galaxy might have new medicine, to save her.”

Jane groaned, “Why does that not surprise me… stubborn old man.”

“I have his memories… he loved mum, so much, he created Sam to try to save her.” Sara explained.

Jane nodded, “I don’t know, Karin?”

“I will need detailed scans to see what is going on inside her… Ra’yven can you scan through a cryo pod?” Karin asked.

Ra’yven nodded, “But the pod will have to come here to go on that scanner,” Ra’yven pointed to a large flatbed over against a wall.

Sara nodded, “And to be honest I would prefer her to be here. I’ll bring her, Captain Dunn will help me hide what I’ve done.”

“And I will contact my colleges in the milky way and see what progress they have made on the disease.” Miranda added.

“Thanks,” Sara told them all.

Jane stood on a platform that would become the seating for a café, later that day, others gathered on other platforms or walkways. Holograms of the council were present a little further away as they only had a small window to participate. Jane typed on her omni-tool, “All hands,” her voice echoed throughout the ship, “We will be transforming Defiance Ship into Defiance Station. Please be seated or hold on.” A couple of more touches and blue lights flashed throughout the ship, there were clicks, hisses and even a couple of clangs before the whole ship started to move slowly.

Gil smiled as he watched decks move, opening, sliding and moving into their station resting places. After thirty minutes the blue lights stopped flashing indicating the process was complete. The lake started to fill with stored water and the next few days the animals which had been woken to help benefit the ecosystems they were designing would be released.

“This… man…” Vetra breathed.

“Tomorrow we will start waking the second wave in the staggered pattern and in a week or two we’ll wake the final wave.” Legionnaire told Jane.

“Right but you need to wake Oriana today right, housing is her department.” Jane stated.

“I was woken this morning Commander,” Oriana said even as she hugged her sister in greeting. “As were my two helpers, we’ll make sure everyone is woken in the right order.”

“Please… apparently Conrad Verner managed to get on board, please, he and his family are the last to wake.” Jane asked and Oriana nodded and made note of it.

“Verner… I met a Verner on Kadara, creepy stalker type,” Sara remarked.

Jane groaned, “Great… it’s genetic.”

Grunt picked up Oriana causing her to squeal a little and plopped her on his shoulder.

“Grunt… seriously… I’ve told you… stop doing that!” Oriana complained. “Put me down!” she ordered.

“Spoil sport,” Grunt complained as he put her down.

“Seriously…” Oriana said as she fixed her clothes which were her brand-new uniform. “I would say act your age but technically your only twelve years old… you realise you have descendants older than you right?”

Grunt went serious for a moment, “Aging is mandatory, growing up… not so much.” He told her with a grin.

Drack laughed.

Oriana glared at him.

“Leave him Oriana… he’s Krogan.” Miranda told her sister.

“So… tour of the commons?” Thea asked and got nods.


	19. Chapter 19 ~ Heleus meets Defiance

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Hi guys, sorry for the delay the release of the chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 19 ~ Heleus meets Defiance

Sara took a deep breath as Jarun Tann went to growl at her, almost a month since she had left the Defiance, they had set Jane’s plan into motion and today was the day. Sloane gave Jarun a lazy smug smile as she made herself comfortable. Morda glared at the Salarian as he stalked pass where she was sitting, if it wasn’t for Sara, she wouldn’t be here but Sara had promised that she wouldn’t want to miss this. Efra was sitting with Moshae, Paaran Shie from Aya, Kiiran Dals from Havarl, Anjik Do Xeel from Voeld and August Bradley from Eos were with her, none of them were impressed with the posturing politician at the moment.

“Director Tann…” Sara greeted.

“Why is a Criminal…” Jarun started to say even as his eyes shot to his previous security chief.

“Sloane Kelly is an ally…” Sara reminded him with an even voice.

“What is this about anyway,” Foster Addison asked, three weeks ago there was a broadcast to everyone which asked them to free up today because there was going to be a special broadcast cluster wide. Other than that, nothing else but a countdown clock was made available. Sara had gone and invited every leader to come, had even gone to the other settlement on Eos to invite them but they had declined, they would watch but they still had issues with the Nexus. Silently Sara hoped that with Defiance here it would help sort things out, also she knew for a fact that both Jane and Thea were not happy with how things had unfolded and most of that ire was going to be pointed at Tann.

“Ambassador Moshae has explained this already, this is a cluster wide broadcast. We are just waiting for the people who asked for this to rock…” Sara turned as she realised Tiran Kandros was running up.

“Pathfinder Ryder, a large ship has requested docking… said they were here on your invitation…” the Turian told her.

Sara smiled, “Just who we’ve been waiting for, get them to dock next to the Tempest.”

Tiran nodded and quickly typed sending the docking information; Sara glanced around, the seating had been arranged much the same way it had been on Defiance only this was set up overlooking the docks. She moved to the railing and was followed by the leaders she had invited. They watched as the Normandy glided into the Nexus and came to a full stop before the Tempest and slowly started to rotate so that it could back up to the empty loading platform next to the Tempest.

The watchers automatically recognised the ship as it slowly moved, it was larger than what they remembered but it was clearly a ship built to defend itself.

“The Normandy?” Sloane questioned she grabbed Sara’s shoulder and pulled her closer. “What…” she started to say but Sara’s look had her pausing and a grin formed. “Oh, this is going to be fun.” She released Sara.

“You don’t know the half of it.” Sara told her before she turned to field Jarun and Foster’s questions.

*

“Hey Legionnaire,” Joker called as he fixed his uniform, “the rear landing ramp has caught… can you free it up?” he asked.

Legionnaire adjusted one of the panels which was used to cover his red chest with his Normandy dress uniform and colours. “Okay.” He told Joker as he moved across the shuttle bay where the others had gathered. The hatch had partially opened, giving Diana Allers the space, she needed to release cloaked spheres to record and broadcast this historical meeting, she would be working from her makeshift office in the Normandy mess.

Legionnaire closed the landing ramp and opened it again, this time it got half way down before grinding to a halt again. “Stupid… hydraulics…” Legionnaire complained, there was probably air in the lines, he thought to himself, as he stomped up the ramp, the magnets in his feet activated slightly to help him move. He was expecting a few glitches with the Normandy’s maiden flight but so far it was just the hatch that was playing up. Getting to the left-hand strut he gave it a gentle kick and the ramp bounced. Moving to the right-hand strut he gave it a similar kick and the whole ramp dropped, before he could think to activate the magnets in his feet, causing him to stumble as the ramp only just managed not to crash into the deck. He righted himself, his feet on the landing pad of the Nexus. Standing tall he checked to make sure his dress uniform and medals were still in place, oblivious to the fact that Nexus security were pointing guns and getting ready to fill him full of bullets.

“Don’t even think about it!” Jack called as she ran half way down the ramp and threw up a barrier which cut across the entire deck between the Nexus and the Normandy and went way above their heads. She held her position and her barrier firmly, keeping Legionnaire safe, nothing short of a large biotic explosion from someone from team Normandy would break it. Part of Team Normandy raced down and Grunt even moved to stand directly before his friend ready to activate fortress.

Sara and a Turian they didn’t know raced forward and stood before security. “Stop… put down your weapons.”

“That’s a Geth!” an Asari holding a riffle declared.

“Yes… and that is one big arse Krogan standing in front of the Geth,” Sara told them, Grunt was the biggest Krogan in this sector standing head and shoulders taller than any other Krogan and he was apparently still growing.

“And one very pissed off Biotic…” Tiran added a little alarmed about the sheer size of the barrier Jack had managed to throw without any hesitation and she didn’t even appear to be straining to hold it in place.

“They aren’t here to hurt anyone,” Sara told them, “see… no guns.”

“Stand down,” Tiran added firmly and finally the security lowered their weapons. “Leave…” he added.

“But…” a human started to say.

“Jack! Grunt! Stand down!” Ashley ordered as she walked down the ramp, Jack glanced over her shoulder for a moment before she released her barrier and Grunt relaxed his stance. “Seriously… can’t take my eyes off you for a moment.” She complained.

“They started it,” Jack and Grunt defended at the same time as they gestured to the security.

Ashley took a deep breath as she glanced around, checking to see if everyone was here and realised that some weren’t here yet.

Jane joined them a few moments later with Thea and Aria, “Sorry… Skjót noticed two of my ribbons were around the wrong way.” She explained.

“She noticed it on everyone,” Ashley told her as Jane started to make her way down the ramp.

“Not on me…” Aria taunted, like Thea would let her get her ribbons or medals in the wrong order.

“You okay Legionnaire? No new holes?” Jane asked in teasing manner.

“No Shepard Commander,” Legionnaire told her.

“It talks… Geth talk?” Tiran asked Sara shocked.

Sara turned to Jane, “You’ve been cleared for temporary boarding, you are not to leave the meeting area without an escort.”

“Understood,” Jane told her only just managing to keep a straight face. _So… how long do we have to play like we don’t know each other?_ Jane asked silently, it was something she had figured out when Sara was still on-board Defiance, that she could use Sara and Sam’s private link.

“Now that’s been said,” Sara said she turned and hugged Jane tightly.

“JANE!” Scott called as he ran forward and launched himself at his older sister, the moment he spotted her nothing was going to keep him away from her. He wanted to have a few words with his twin about keeping secrets but… Jane was here!

Jane hugged the twins tightly. “I love you both to bits… but you are messing up my uniform.” She told the pair after several moments and they all released each other.

Jane messed Scott’s hair, “good to see you too little bro.”

“You’re here!” Scott told her even as his hand reach up to touch faded scars which were new to him, what had happened to her, what had caused them.

“Yeah, long story, but you will hear it, forgive your sister for keeping secrets.” Jane told him and he nodded.

Jane glanced back to her group and with a flick of her head everyone came together as a group except for Thea as she came to join Jane. They moved as a group up to the Nexus lead by Sara, Scott and Tiran.

Jane turned to Ra’yven who was carrying a bag as they got to the seating Sara had organised, Legionnaire and Grunt were also carrying bags. “Ra’yven, Grunt, Legionnaire… please we have guests waiting to join us.”

Ra’yven moved to a clear bit of space and started to put down spheres, Grunt and Legionnaire copied then put down plates that were in the bottom of their bags, hologram pads for showing images before putting away their bags. Once Ra’yven finished laying down the last sphere in her bag she pulled out the power node for the holo pad and connected it.

“You’re… you’re Commander Shepard,” Juran stated in shock and Jane nodded as she watched her people settle.

“Sara,” Sloane hissed at her, “Sara… Why is Aria T’loak here?” she demanded as she watched the infamous Pirate queen make herself comfortable. Aria was dressed in something similar to the others, like a military uniform, had medals pinned to jacket and a mission badge on her arm.

“Just wait and see,” Sara told her.

“Councillor Tevos,” Juran said stiffly.

“Ambassador Tevos actually,” Thea corrected as she elegantly took her seat.

Ra’yven typed for several moments, testing the holo pad and then activating the spheres. “All ready on my end.” She told Jane and Jane flicked Ra’yven’s ear before pushing the woman to the chairs.

“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Juran demanded to know.

“I will… once everyone is here,” Jane told him firmly, causing several of her people to snicker as they remembered other times Jane spoke with such a tone, Thea remembered it vividly and had even had that tone used on her. The spheres started to rise as people connected to them. Juran fell down when the largest hologram of a Rachni appeared.

Bakara stepped forward as one of the longest serving members of the council. “Greetings to the Heleus cluster from the Milky Way galaxy. I am Urdnot Bakara, currently one of two of the longest serving Councillors on the Council.” She said before she bowed her head in greeting and was followed by the others.

Moshae stepped forward as Director Tann was still on the floor. “I am Ambassador Moshae Sjefa of the Angara, First appointed Ambassador by The Pathfinder.” She paused for a moment before she continued in Shelesh. “Paavoa set jave jarevaon, gara jarevaon Imasaf. Novoa set paara taerve uni.”

The council blinked and glanced to Jane for a translation, Jane shook her head letting them know she couldn’t help them at this moment.

“My Shelesh is rudimentary at best,” Sara said as she stepped forward, “but basically, Welcome to our galaxy, people of the Milky way. This day we will learn a way forward together.” She translated, she glanced to Jaal, “I got that right, right?”

Jaal smiled and nodded, “That is exactly what she said.”

“Thank you for your warm greeting,” Glitch told her. “I hope that we can get to know each other in the days, weeks and years, to come and although we are distant neighbours, I hope you will come to consider us as close friends and allies.”

Foster helped Juran to his feet.

“Please take your seats and we’ll start this.” Jane asked in a diplomatic way.

Moshae sat and Efra leant over, “Why are we listening to that one?” he asked as he nodded to Jane and was even surprised as the Milky Way people all seemed to be dumbfounded or in awe of that person.

“Give it time, it will make sense, _also… do not… make her… into… our enemy,_ ” Moshae said finishing in Shelesh. “ _She and hers… they are very formidable…_ ” she added.

Efra frowned as he considered Moshae for a moment but her emotions showed she was serious, he needed to be cautious of the woman before him, as well as the people with her here today.

Jane waited until everyone had settled, even those from the Milky Way seemed to have taken seats. She glanced around for a few moments before she relaxed and came to stand at ease. “Thank you all for clearing your day for this, as well as those who came. Thank you also for allowing us to install Quantum beacons on your worlds allowing instantaneous communications between settlements and with the Milky way galaxy once this is over.”

Juran went pale, he would have no control of the flow of information if she was correct.

“The Pathfinder asked,” August stated and the others nodded, Sara had a reason for asking and they owed her far too much to just ignore a reasonable request.

“And I thank you for trusting her, you will not regret having those beacons.” Jane told them honestly. August could already see the benefit of the beacon; they would have unfretted contact with the Milky Way.

“Firstly, I would like to explain that we came in a ship called Defiance, we will be acting Autonomously for now but we will offer trade and non-aggression treaties to anyone considered an ally by Pathfinder Ryder.” Jane stated simply and noticed instantly the anger Director Tann felt at being side stepped.

Thea stood to quickly cut off Juran before he could open his mouth and make a fool of himself, “I am Thea Tevos, I am the Ambassador and Liaison for Defiance, I will start organising those treaties today once this is done.” She added before she sat.

Jane took a deep breath, “For those of you here in the Heleus cluster, you must be confused as to why I am here while those in the Milky Way already know. I have a story to tell you, it will be broken into three parts with a twenty-minute break between each section. The story I am about to tell you is the full truth and uncensored, there are things you’ll hear that might make you angry, sad or disturbed. I would like you to listen and, in some cases, watch the entire story before forming an opinion or asking questions. Everything will make sense at the end… I hope.” She told them, she glanced over to the Council and noticed the excited looks from the younger members, after all, they were hearing what happened from the very people who did it.

“Firstly, some back ground for our new friends the Angara. Not too much, if you wish for more information after this you are welcome to dive into the public intranet you can access through the beacons and even talk to people from the Milky Way.” Jane said before she launched into her explanation first about the Council, a little about Council races, then Spectres and finally N7s. “Essentially Spectres and N7s are… to use an Angara term I recently learnt… Heskaarls.” She glanced to Jaal, “I said that, correctly right?”

Jaal nodded.

“Spectres and N7s are elite special forces,” Jane added more for the Milky Way than the Angara. She glanced to the Angara she didn’t know, “Is that sufficient back ground or would you like more?” she asked.

Paaran Shie nodded, “Pretty well explained, if we want to know more, we can learn it for ourselves.”

Jane nodded, “So… for the most part this my story, and I doubt, except for my friends, that people know my whole story.” She glanced to some of the Milky Way people before she launched into her birth, her parents, the attack on Mindoir and finally how she survived that attack, who found her and how she went to live with the Ryders. “So, Sara and Scott… are my siblings.” She finished and Juran understood why Jane was trusting Sara above anyone else, if Alec was here, she would be trusting him.

Jane then went on to explain everything that happened from her Eden Prime mission, to Kaiden’s death which caused her to pause for a moment in remembrance. She then continued finishing with the battle of the Citadel, with Edi showing footage whenever she had some available. Her team injected humour and added to the story whenever they could and Karin made it her mission to remind Jane each time she died.

Thea then stood and explained why the Council chose to cover it up, to call Sovereign a Geth instead of what it really was, a Reaper.

“Okay, we’ll take a twenty-minute break here.” Jane told everyone.

Tali finally got sick and tired of her helmet so took it off, when getting to a new environment she had to test the air before she could remove her helmet and if the environment had bad elements her suit would slowly introduce them until she no longer needed it. “That feels better.”

Jane smiled, “Surprised you had it on for so long.”

“Me too,” Tali said as she rolled her neck before she attached her helmet to the hook on her belt.

Jane noticed Sara wanting her attention so she walked over. “This is Efra, he is in charge of the Resistance.”

“Greetings,” Jane offered her forearm in a traditional Angara greeting. Efra greeted her but his eyes were searching, wondering about the person before him. “Once this is done, if you would like we could organise a tour of the military side of Defiance.”

“A bold name,” Efra remarked but secretly he liked it.

Jane grinned, “At least we didn’t arrive on fire.”

Efra grinned, he tried not to but he couldn’t help it, Jane’s comment was funny, at the same time it teased her sister and Angara were all about family.

“Come on… it wasn’t part of the plan… it just happened.” Sara complained.

“I would like to see your facilities, The Moshae has told us firmly not to make you our enemy.” He remarked.

“Yeah… kind of… showed off a little…” Jane explained as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Efra nodded beginning to almost like Jane, “had to… your little sister was around.”

Jane grinned and nodded, she glanced over to her people and noticed that Aria was getting concerned looks from some of the Nexus command but Aria was busy playing a complex version of Asari chess with Samantha, probably at Thea’s prompting to keep her out of trouble.

Thea was being introduced to important people by Moshae so it was Jane Juran turned his attention to.

“How dare you…” he started to say.

“Careful now, you’re still being recorded and broadcasted,” Sara warned as she glanced to the decloaked spheres which were hovering although she guessed there were also cloaked spheres watching as well.

“You… work for me…” Juran started to say but realised that they had been joined by several holograms.

“Director…” Isallah said dryly, Bakara loomed up on her other side as did the human councillor. “We are looking forward to Pathfinder Ryder’s story and hearing what happened from Jane’s little sister’s point of view.” She continued. “Also… since Jane has heard it before, if you try to censor it so that you look good… we’ll know. Jane’s story is uncensored, you’ll hear things that the Council did which were shameful, what our governments did which were down right negligent. However, we accept what happened and we learnt from it.”

Sloane looked as if a lifetime of Christmases came all at once, when Sara said she was going to have fun she didn’t realise she would get to watch Tann get dressed down.

Morda smirked also pleased to witness Tann get dressed down, Sara said she wouldn’t be disappointed if she came and already, she wasn’t. Before Jane started, Drack had already warned her that Jane’s story might get her angry but it would also prove that Jane’s choices were right that eventually things would be set right she just had to wait for it. Considering a Krogan was on the Council had her willing to get to the end before voicing anything. Drack had also given them a gift from Jane already, something they had been asked to keep safe but not to open until after this day.

“It’s almost time, we should return to our seats.” Thea called to everyone.

Jane watched as the timer counted back to zero, “Okay… so… we just defeated Sovereign, the Council had us mopping up pockets of Geth resistance.” She then went on and explained the Collectors attacking them, destroying the Normandy SRV 1 and how she was spaced.

“But you were rescued?” Efra asked.

Jane’s friends chuckled, “Oh no… I died, my suit was leaking air, I was pulled into a planet’s gravity and crash landed but by that stage I was well and truly dead.” Jane answered with a smile. “Also… before you all start going on that I am a clone, not a clone… see I can tell you a very funny story about Sara when she was eight and she…”

“NO!” Sara called and even rushed forward to stop her. “Jane you promised,” she reminded her older sister and people laughed. They could also believe that this Jane was the real one as clones did not retain memories of their original body. Sara returned to her seat all the while she kept her eyes on Jane and pointed at her.

“Okay… fine…” Jane told her as she sat and glanced to Liara who stood and explained her part next, then Miranda explained hers. Jane then took the story over and explained everything, hunting down her people, the missions they did, the Alpha relay incident; everything until after the Omega 4 run. Again, Jane’s story was accompanied by banter from her team or footage. “Okay… we’ll take 20 minutes.” She said as she reached for a drink and used it to swallow some tablets, she wasn’t the only one taking a tablet or two in preparation for what was going to happen next.

Sara made sure to get away before Juran could try to talk to her and went to chat with Jane’s friends.

“I can go and scare him if you want?” Aria asked with a slightly menacing look.

“Aria,” Thea warned in a low tone.

Jane grinned, “Maybe later.”

“Jane! She doesn’t need the encouragement!” Thea complained before she got to her feet and went to mingle.

Aria sighed and pulled up a game called Krogans vs Thresher Maws and started to play.

“Aria… one of your medals isn’t placed correctly,” Legionnaire remarked.

Aria glanced to her medals, she knew they were perfect because Thea had organised them, it was just that her breasts and cut of clothes made them look crooked when she sat, “it’s fine Legionnaire, it’s just how it sits with this uniform.”

“Hey when we get back to Defiance, you, me, Jack… Aramex?” Jane asked.

Aria smiled, “Sounds like fun…”

“Oh, I am in,” Jack added and she and Aria bumped fists.

“Why don’t I ever get invited?” Zaeed asked a little dejected.

Jack turned to Zaeed, “You, Grunt and James never invite us.” Jack replied.

“True,” he remarked as Jane went to join Thea, meeting more people.

“So… you…” Sloane started to say but Jane stopped her.

“Everything will make sense in the end, please hold until then.” Jane told her and Sloane nodded.

“It’s just…” she started to say.

Jane nodded, “I know but if I start answering questions, I give away what happens next.” Jane glanced around checking where people were, “Did you enjoy watching Tann getting told off?”

Sloane grinned, “So fricking much.”

Jane smiled, “Has Thea come to talk to you yet about a non-aggression and trade treaty?”

“You would trade with us… we are outcasts and exiles?” Sloane asked.

Jane chuckled, “I am close friends with people who were once criminals… you had reason and cause to demand answers, I don’t agree with what Tann did but I also know that as much as he pretends to be in control, there were forces which were stirring things up behind the scenes.”

Sloane frowned, it seemed like Jane knew more of what was going on than they did, “Mm?”

Jane nodded, “We will give lists and I will stop there as I will be going into the next section of the story if I do.”

Sloane nodded, “Glad you’re here though, Sara’s managed to get us to be allies but we still need help.”

Jane nodded, “See what I can do…”

Thea had to remind Jane that time was up as she was chatting and getting to know the Angara. “Jane… time… and don’t forget…”

Jane nodded, “Okay everyone, please retake your seats.” She waited until everyone was seated. “Alright… um… before we start the next part, I’ve been told to put in a warning.” She paused for a moment, “To those on Defiance, and those who lived through it in the Milky Way, we will be using footage of what we saw happen. This is your trigger warning.” Jane rubbed the palms of her hands together and waited a few moments giving people the time they needed to take tablets and mentally prepare for the next part.

Taking a deep breath, she launched into returning to Earth to answer for her crime of destroying the Alpha relay and in the process the colony Aratoht. She could see the shock and anger on people’s faces that she was even called back to Earth, Jane had showed her little bit of evidence which proved her actions as just. However, she ignored them and continued her story getting to Invasion Day or the start of the Reaper War which was punctuated with footage, first of Jane trying to answer the questions from Command and then fighting her way through to the Normandy with Anderson.

Horror, that was the predominant look on the faces of the people in the Heleus cluster as they watch Earth get overwhelmed by an enemy and of what the Reapers did to the Batarians… Cannibals.

“Anderson reinstated me and basically ordered me to get allies and beat the Reapers.” Jane explained even as Edi showed the footage of Anderson tossing Jane her tags before he ran off to bolster forces. Jane continued the story, of finding a weapon to defeat the Reapers then everything she did to find allies, Edi showing footage of Reapers attacking Palven, showed footage of the Reaper forces Marauders and Brutes. When that was done, they moved onto Cerberus attacking Grissom and finding a living relic in Javik.

“YOU DID WHAT!” Juran called when Jane got to the war summit.

“I agreed to cure the Geno phage,” Jane told him in a reasonable tone but her stare cut right through him, it also cowed him into silence, she doubted he would open his mouth for the rest of her story. She turned back to her story, explained recusing Bakara from Cerberus on Sur’Kesh and the missions she did as Mordin worked on the cure until it was finally ready. Helping Aria take back Omega and fighting Adjuncts, Aria and Jane both shivered a little as Edi played the footage. Learning of and meeting the Leviathans, the beings who created the Reapers, why they did so and that they were the first race harvested. With Karin injecting that she had died again after returning from her meeting with the Leviathans. Helping the Turians shut down an old bomb on Tuchanka, it simply couldn’t remain if they were ever to truly be Allies, freeing the Rachni queen from Reaper control and getting her assistance in building the weapon. The Dalatrasses telling her to sabotage the cure and her refusing to do so as Edi played footage, there were gasps as they watched Jane dodge Reaper legs as she fought her way to the Maw Hammers and then cheers as Kalros took out a Reaper. Jane grinned but Efra noticed it didn’t reach her eyes, or the eyes of the people with her. When the cheers quietened Jane then explained how Mordin died making sure the Krogan were cured.

“Had to be him, someone else might have got it wrong,” Jane said, modifying his words before she paused for a moment of reflection. Edi played a little footage of Mordin singing in the lab, making those who knew him smile.

“She saved the Council… again,” Thea added and got grins but again those grins did not reach their eyes. Jane explained returning to the Citadel only for it to be under attack and having to fight her way through to protect the Council and oust Cerberus, that the human Councillor Udina was behind it and of Thane’s death. 

Jane brought her hands together and bowed her head, “Kalahira, mistress of inscrutable depths please watch over Thane’s soul as he rests.” Jane said simply and the Drell on the council bowed their head to Jane’s reference to their religion. Again, she paused after Thane’s death and Efra saw that Jane did not like losing people, his respect for her grew.

“The Admiralty Board chose to attack the Geth to reclaim Rannoch, even after I warned them to leave the Geth alone, that they didn’t want to fight us.” Tali said giving Jane extra time, “the Geth… turned to the Reapers and that was on us.” She added before she crossed her arms and turned to the Quarian representative.

“Indeed, Admiral Zorah vas Normandy,” they agreed.

Jane then explained helping the Quarians and Geth become allies, first by rescuing Legion then going into the Geth consciousness and freeing Primes before recuing a Quarian Admiral who had crashed on Rannoch. Edi showed footage of being chased by another Destroyer class Reaper, playing chicken with it as she lined up her laser for the fleet to take it out. Speaking with the dying Reaper and finally of Legion’s sacrifice. “Esu se'lai Legion.” Jane, Tali, Legionnaire, Glitch and the Quarian representative said together. Jane paused as she tried to control her emotions.

“Right… next we bumped into Samara at a Ardat-Yakshi monastery,” Jane continued, “that’s when we met… what the Reapers did to the Asari… Banshees.” She nodded to Edi and everyone on her side and those who knew what was coming covered their ears. Regardless it did not completely drown out the sound of a Banshee’s scream.

“I still have nightmares about fighting them,” Ashley remarked once Edi cut the feed.

“When it’s too quiet… I think I hear their screams,” Samara added and got nods from some of the others, they either dreamed of fighting Banshees or hearing them. Jane finished the story by explaining Rila’s sacrifice and stopping Samara from killing herself.

Jane sighed as her friends grinned or chuckled as they knew the next part. “Fine… Let it out,” she told them and they started to tell the somewhat hilarious, to them at least, story of Jane going to have sushi with Joker only for her to be attacked.

“You used me as a diversion!” Jeff reminded her, “still haven’t quite forgiven you for that!”

“It sucks you know… I really wanted to go there but you destroyed it,” Liara teased in retaliation for her bondmate’s adorable comment earlier about their meeting.

“It wasn’t me… some arsehole shot the glass floor! I did NOT destroy the sushi place!” Jane complained but her friends just laughed, even Bakara and Glitch laughed as they were in on the now long running joke. Edi showed footage of Jane in a dress and heels falling through the floor and several stories as Jane rubbed her forehead.

“Only you,” Thea remarked as they watched Jane fight expertly with the enemy with an unfamiliar weapon until she got to the sky car place and watched Liara drool a little over Jane in her dress and then the impact of Wrex jumping onto the roof of a hovering shuttle.

“Idiot… impressive move but idiot,” Bakara remarked with a little shake of her head.

Jane took over the story, tracking the attacker to the Citadel archives, learning that her attacker was an evil clone stolen from the Lazarus project, they got to watch the banter as they fought through the archives and when the Normandy was taken. Jane then explained breaking in using a Samantha’s tooth brush and finally of her clone taking their own life.

Thea took a deep breath, “This is when I went against the Matriarch council and told Jane about the partially active beacon on Thessia, that it might have a clue to finding the missing piece to the Crucible, the Catalyst.” She admitted. “I still wished I had defied them sooner.”

Jane just reached over and clapped her on the shoulder. “The important part is that you told us, even when the Matriarch Council told you not to.” Taking a deep breath, she launched into going to Thessia, fighting their way to the temple and ultimately having the Prothean VI stolen by Cerberus. Jane let Edi show footage of Thessia under attack as they were forced to flee.

“Samantha was sure she could track Kai Leng.” Jane added.

“It took time but I did,” Samantha stated.

“He was tracked to a planet meant to be a refugee planet, Horizon.” Jane added before she explained all that happened on Horizon with Miranda adding where ever she could. “He got away,” Jane complained.

“But I placed a tracker… we just had to wait for him to stop moving.” Miranda injected.

“I threw a party… we really needed to blow off steam,” Jane continued and waited for Aria to complain.

“That would have been better if I was invited,” Aria didn’t disappoint.

“But you were,” Jane told her, “Not my fault you decided to laid instead.” She stated, she didn’t know why neither Thea or Aria attended but she could safely assume.

Aria grinned, “True.”

Jane shook her head and continued, how after the party they went after Kai Leng, of fighting through the Illusive man’s strong hold, fighting Kai Leng, killing him and getting back the data stolen. “The Citadel was the Catalyst, the missing piece to the weapon.” She finished before she glanced to Thea.

“While Jane was raiding Cerberus, the Reapers attacked and took control of the Citadel…” Thea started.

“We now know that Harbinger was concerned about Jane’s progress, she was too close.” Glitch added.

Thea nodded that made sense, “Before the Destiny Ascension evacuated the council, I ordered them to take on every person they could and leave last moment. I also ordered all resources to Sol, Councillors Sparatus and Valern did the same, we all knew that if Sol fell… so would the galaxy.” The Council nodded in agreement, the Reaper War had been studied intensely while Defiance slept, some had even managed to create simulations to see if they could have survived had Jane not been around, the answer was simply No, all of Jane’s actions from the time before she even became a Spectre, the friends she made, had helped win the war.

“David managed to warn us that the Citadel had been moved to Earth’s orbit,” Jane continued, “I rallied everyone, it was now or never.” Edi played footage of them fighting their way through the Reaper blockage to get to Earth. “The arms needed to be open in order to deploy the Crucible, the Reapers were letting no one close, but they had also installed a transfer device on Earth… that was our way in,” she explained even as they watched them fighting their way forward.

“The Battle of London,” Isallah breathed as Edi showed highlights of the fight, using a Cain to take out a Reaper, escorting the rocket launcher. She got to the point where the others joined them and just played it through.

Sloane was shocked to see Aria join Jane in the fight as Edi was using Normandy feeds, Isallah leant forward to watch intently as Jane collapsed only to rise again and let her team know Harbinger was trying to indoctrinate her. Not just once, but twice and then finally she threw him off entirely and charged forward with her people. Edi showed them personal footage of the fight against Harbinger, there were cheers as he fell, and their evacuation. Then whatever footage she could piece together from salvaged feeds of Harbinger’s final attack that nearly took out Jane, her getting up and finally getting to the transfer device.

“There is no footage of what happened next… my armour was pretty banged up,” Jane explained and even if there was, it would be locked, no one needed to see that. She explained finding David and that the Illusive man had somehow been indoctrinated, killing him and then opening the arms. “I then sat next to David and just watched as the arms opened, using heaps of medi-gel to keep us going. I don’t remember blacking out after telling Joker to flee.”

“The fleet covered us and told us to go get the Commander,” Jeff said into the silence.

“Steve and I took a small team and a Kodiak to the Citadel and found Jane and Anderson,” Garrus said as Edi showed footage of them finding Jane and Anderson in pools of their own blood. Getting them on the shuttle and Jane waking for a few moments as Garrus held her hand and encouraged her to hold on.

“We bundled her, Anderson, Edi and Legionnaire into the AI core which had been protected from the wave so that we could work on them safely.” Karin added as she gestured to herself, Miranda and Liara.

“I then out ran the wave just long enough for them to stabilise Jane and the Admiral.” Jeff added.

“Jane died again, not for long but she died, for those who haven’t been keeping track… that’s five times now that the Commander has died…” Karin added as Edi played footage of the wave destroying the Reapers.

“She just doesn’t know how to die,” Efra remarked dumbfounded and got laughter from team Normandy.

“Once we got the Normandy back up and running, we raced to join the fleet.” Jeff stated.

“Jane needed urgent medical attention, as did Anderson. I didn’t have the facilities on the Normandy to treat them.” Karin added. “The Destiny Ascension had everything we needed, once she was treated, we decided to keep Jane in a drug induced coma for a week, give her a chance to heal.”

James chuckled, “Made so many credits…” Grunt chuckled and high fived James.

There were some confused looks, “Yeah… they were betting on whether or not I would wake with the Asari medical team which helped treat me…” Jane started to explain.

“Bunch of soft skinned Pyjacks…” Grunt complained. “They didn’t know the rule…”

“Huh… what rule?” Efra asked confused.

“Don’t bet against Shepard,” Team Normandy said as one.

Efra considered the statement then nodded as that rule once said made complete sense.

“A week later they turned off the drugs, twenty minutes after that I was awake and alert.” Jane added.

“And that was when we finally let the Galaxy know that Jane and the Normandy had survived.” Thea slid in. “We didn’t do it sooner; we didn’t want to get peoples hopes up if Jane didn’t pull through. We were bombarded with ideas and requests for search parties, everyone wanted to know what happened to the Commander.”

“Four days after I woke, I was allowed to return to the Normandy, interview segments of the aftermath will be made available for you to go over at your leisure.” Jane added.

“You can also investigate what we did up until the one-year anniversary.” Thea said as she stood to take over for a little bit. “It was then that we finally got around to rewarding the Normandy for all that it did. Jane kept shrugging us off when we tried to do it sooner.” She glared a little at Jane.

“I was busy trying to get the galaxy back up and running,” Jane defended.

“Bullshit,” Jack, Bakara and Glitch coughed.

“One year later ceremony please Edi,” Thea asked as she sat and they watched the one year later ceremony and Jane’s speech and her proposing to Liara.

Jane glared a little at Thea and when that was finished, she played the footage of Thea declaring Aria as her bondmate just before she walked into the party Jane was throwing. Sloane nearly choked on her drink and others from the Milky way were just speechless.

“Enough…” Liara told Jane gently as she leant in to kiss her cheek.

“And a few months after Liara and Jane bonded Jane finally took the human representative spot on the Council,” Bakara added with a grin.

“Only for ten years…” Jane reminded.

Legionnaire walked forward typing on his omni-tool. “Before we removed Harbinger, we found intact stored data, it was retrieved before it’s body was released into the gravity of Sol. I was one of the people working on decoding the data, these are the orders that were decoded during my time there.” He brought up the sequence of orders then finally showed the reason they were here.

“Six…” Efra breathed and Jane nodded.

“That’s why we are here, to finish them.” She told the cluster. “Alright, we’ll break for 20 and then Pathfinder Ryder can tell her story.” Sara moved quickly, getting away before Juran could corner her, she moved to chat with Ashley. Jack was nearby and just let off a menacing air.

Juran however went straight to Jane who had moved to chat with Morda. “Commander,” Juran said finally getting his nerve back.

Jane took a breath and waited for him; she gave Morda a hold signal.

“You can’t be thinking to give the cure…” he started to say.

“My deal with Wrex was to cure the Geno phage for ALL Krogan.” Jane told him coldly, already seeing where this was going.

“You can’t!” He exclaimed but tried to be quiet.

Jane closed her eyes for a moment and noticed the silence, everyone was turned here and she felt that all the cameras were on them, they had already warned him once about the cameras. After that moment she shook her head, “Wow… okay… explain to me why,” she asked unimpressed, again she gave Morda the hold signal, to just wait.

“They are vicious brutes…” Juran answered as if it was obvious.

“Right…” Jane said in her most sarcastic tone and those who knew what that meant chuckled, “never thought I would meet a stupid Salarian.” She told him honestly, “You are so blinded by your prejudice that you failed to see.” She took half a step to the side and then gestured to Bakara. “Urdnot Bakara, one of the longest serving Council members… Krogan have been on the Council since the end of the Reaper war. The Alliance between the Krogans and Turians is stronger than ever and even before I left the Dalatrasses had finally admitted they were wrong. Clans leader Urdnot Wrex put out a blanket band on ANY retaliation for the Geno phage, the females refused to carry on lines of those who wanted to continue the feud, any feud, it was the beginning of a new era, all old angers, feuds and grudges had to be let go or they would just end up back where they started.” She told him honestly. “You blame generations for crimes they didn’t commit and want to continue to subject them to a disease that made them give birth to dead young. Something your race created and decided was the ONLY answer to the rebellion?” she asked.

“They are violent,” he argued.

“So are humans,” Jane admitted, “We’re violent, we’re rash…”

“But humans are reasonable!” he stated.

“So are Krogan,” Jane told him back.

“I for…” Juran started to say.

“See… you are still blinded, blinded by your prejudice and by your greed.” Jane cut him off. “Defiance is Autonomous, I don’t take orders from you, I don’t even take orders from the Council.”

“Careful…” Thea said before he could open his mouth and jam his foot down it further, that or get punched, at the rate he was going, Jane was moments away from punching him. “From what we have learnt, you need us, kind of urgently, we don’t really need you.”

“Besides… I gave Nakmor Drack the cure weeks ago.” Jane told him.

Morda’s eyes went wide, “the package Drack gave me and told me to keep safe. It’s the cure?” she asked and Jane nodded.

“I made a deal with Wrex,” Jane told her firmly and at the same time let Morda know that her word was important, that it meant something to Jane. If she said she would do something, made a promise she would do her best to abide by it. It was something the Nexus had failed to do, which she hoped would garner her a little good will with clans here.

“The cure,” Bakara said as she walked forward. “It will change how your body works and it will weaken your immune system for a little while but your body will correct.” She explained.

“What changes?” Morda demanded to know.

“We don’t clutch yearly anymore, once every five to ten years, we also don’t clutch as many young, two to ten at one time, but all of them are viable and we generally give birth to multiple daughters a clutch.” Bakara answered. “We’ve even had to instigate breeding limits, to make sure we don’t over populate the three worlds we have at the moment. Although we are arguing with humans about a world at the moment, we both want to settle it, humans are so tenacious, the same worlds we like for their harshness they like for the same reason.”

“We do like a good death planet like our own,” Jane said and Sloane laughed at Jane’s reference to the old idea that humans were Space Orcs or Space Australians and Earth was a Death planet, they were mostly right in that regard.

Thea placed a hand on her forehead as she looked at Juran, “You need to seriously sit down and think about what it means to be the leader of a MULTIPLE race organisation. If you don’t… you will find yourself ousted from your position.” She warned.

“You also have to remember what ideal the Initiative was founded on.” Jane added and the three went to walk away.

“You think it’s been easy…” Juran argued.

The three women stopped and turned back to him, the way he was speaking was as if he thought they didn’t understand the burden of command, of being a leader. Before any of them could open their mouths the Dalatrass on the Council stepped between them. “I will talk with my family’s ancestor.” She said firmly and then led him away.

“This close,” Jane said as she indicated with her thumb and fore finger a very small gap. “One more word and he was getting decked.”

Thea and Bakara chuckled, Jane had in fact punched an obstinate petitioner during a Council sitting, they were later confirmed to be indoctrinated but still, she had punched them. “Please don’t,” Thea said thinking about the extra work it would mean for her if Jane hit him.

“It would have been glorious to watch though,” Morda stated and Sloane nodded.

“Diana… was that broadcasted?” Jane asked through her comms.

“You bet your arse it was,” she answered causing Jane to chuckle.

Jane walked over to her sister and rested a hand on her shoulder, she noticed that Sara was a little nervous, “You’ll be fine.” Jane told her.

“I’m not you,” Sara replied.

“Thank goodness…” Aria told her, “one of her is irritating enough.”

Jane covered Sara’s mouth to stop her from commenting about Aria’s requests for a foursome. “Be lucky we’re friends,” she started to warn the Asari. Sara gave Aria a mischievous look before she gathered all the saliva in her mouth on her tongue and licked Jane’s hand causing Jane to yank her hand back. “You just licked my hand. Gross,” she told her sister and went to wipe her hand against Sara’s clothes.

Sara stepped back to avoid it. “Look who’s talking.” Sara replied playfully and then they started to play, Jane trying to wipe her hand against Sara’s clothes and Sara avoiding. Scott came over to break it up and ended up getting Jane’s saliva covered hand against his clothes.

“Gross,” Scott said and just before he could join the fray Liara came and broke them up.

“Right, Scott, this is my wife and bondmate Liara, Liara my little brother Scott.” Jane introduced as she used the offered hand sanitiser. Liara greeted Scott with her hand but he pulled her in for a hug.

“Thanks, for a while there I thought Jane was never going to find love.” Scott told her before he released her.

Jane punched Scott gently.

“What… it’s true… you never dated,” Scott defended.

Jane frowned but before she could say anything Thea joined them, “time to start.” She told the group with a smile, watching Jane interact with her siblings was fun.

Everyone retook their seats and focused on Sara, Sara turned to the Council. “Hi, for those in the Milky Way I will explain a little about the Pathfinder job in Heleus.” She launched into a brief explanation about her father creating a partner AI who would help the Pathfinder explore and analyse the alien landscape to help facilitate the finding of homes. She took a deep breath, “although there is one Pathfinder per Ark, you’ll find that when someone of Heleus says The Pathfinder, they generally mean me.”

“Always means you,” Jaal corrected.

Sara rubbed the back of her neck as she nodded. “Yeah.” She admitted before she launched into her story, starting when she woke from cryo, hitting the scourge, Scott getting his brain scrambled.

“Isn’t that normal for him?” Jane asked and got laughter.

“Jane,” Scott complained.

Sara smiled and started to explain going down to habitat 7.

“Falling down,” Gil teased.

Sara sighed and explained the shuttle getting hit by lightning, it breaking up and her falling with broken jump jets. “Sam managed to get them working again before I was too close to the ground and our connection was cut.” She then explained the rest of what happened on habitat 7 including her father choosing to save her by giving her his helmet and making her Pathfinder with his dying breaths.

“Sara died… not for long but we managed to bring her back and Sam managed to connect.” Lexi added into the silence.

“Captain Dunn then took us to the Nexus.” Cora added.

Sara then explained what happened when she got to the Nexus and what she found out happened when the Nexus got to Heleus, including the exile of those who just wanted answers and expulsion of the Krogan who had been lied to.

“Lies!” Juran declared.

Sara turned to him, “Sam… the evidence…” Sara asked and Sam showed the evidence that Sara was right.

Sloane and Morda nodded, pleased Sara hadn’t just believed what she was told. “I won’t discuss suspicion, everything I include, I investigated and have evidence for.”

“Please… the Commander told her story uncensored, allow Pathfinder Ryder the same courtesy.” Isallah stated.

Thea walked over to Juran and leant in to speak into his ear, “You need to stop trying to protect yourself, accept you made mistakes, that you should have done more, been a better leader. If you don’t, when the time comes, you’ll find yourself ousted and exiled. I should know… I accepted my failures and still retained my job.” She warned before she returned to her seat.

Sara waited a moment before she explained getting given the Tempest and was told to go get them a foothold. Taking a deep breath, she launched into Eos, finding the bodies of people left behind, reactivating the monoliths, meeting Peebee and Drack before reactivating the vault. Sam played footage to go along with Sara’s story, there were frowns when they heard about the Nexus abandoning people, then curiosity and awe at the scope of the vault Sara had explored then activated.

“The vault cleared the skies and the radiation, I just had to put down an outpost and I had found a perfect spot for it.” Sara explained and Sam showed footage first of meeting back up with Drack and then choosing to focus on science and the founding of Prodromos.

“Eos’s vault, pointed us to a planet, so we went… in the process, we met the Archon.” Sara explained and Sam played the footage of the Archon talking to them. “We got free and with Kallo flying we managed to squeeze between tight free sections and got out. We however struck the scourge and had to put down to fix it.”

Sara sighed when her friends chuckled, “We arrived… on fire…” she admitted and her friends and the Normandy laughed.

Glitch slapped her hand to her face; her shoulders shook as she tried not to laugh while Bakara chortled in amusement. Sara waited until the laughter went away, “It wasn’t the plan…” Sara complained.

“And when she told me that,” Jaal said, “I told her, it was good to know because if it was it would be a very bad plan.”

Efra chuckled as did many others.

Sara cleared her throat and quickly explained being walked through Aya and meeting the leader of the resistance, then of helping Jaal with several missions, to prove she could be a friend to the Angara, reactivating vaults where she could, helping where she could. Rescuing the Moshae and finding out about Exaltation, about what the Archon was doing to the Angara. She then went on to explain the path that lead her to Kadara, where the exiles had made their home, finding the Asari ark, to raiding the Archon’s ship, dying again and finding the Salarians ark. Sara kept going, explaining everything she did until they got to the point where Scott, the Hyperion and Sam were stolen.

“Three times… Sara died again when Sam was removed from her, Scott resetting her implant brought her back.” Lexi added and now Sam played footage of the massive battle they went through to wrest control from the Archon.

“I then chose Moshae Sefa to be the Ambassador.” Sara said finishing her story. “Since then I’ve been looking for the Quarian ark, haven’t found it yet but I think it is just a matter of time.”

“Let’s take a break,” Thea told everyone.

“Damn Sara… you don’t do things by halves,” Sloan remarked to the younger woman, Sara had investigated a lot of things surrounding the turmoil of the arrival of the Nexus, mainly so that she could have all the information and be able have an informed opinion.

“It was important that I knew the whole story, all sides and all triggers.” Sara told her as she stood and stretched.

“Jien… didn’t die because of the scourge, right?” Sloane asked seriously.

“Diana… please don’t film this,” Sara asked a moment later her omni-tool buzzed, Diana let her know there were no cameras on her presently. “I don’t know who did it… but she was murdered.”

Morda growled lowly, “I knew it.”

“Until I know more… keep quiet…” Sara told the pair and got nods.

Jane walked over with Bakara and another Krogan Sara didn’t know. “Sara… this is Urdnot Bakara and Clans Chief of the Milky Way Krogan, Urdnot Mordin.”

Sara smiled, “Nice to meet you both.”

“We are… in our own way related…” Mordin started to say.

“Yeah… Mordin’s partner is Grunt’s oldest daughter Shark,” Jane explained with a smile.

“My father is also her krantt,” Mordin added.

“And Bakara and I are… something like sisters,” Jane added.

Sara chuckled, “Yep… definitely in our own way.”

“So… when are you going to get your sister and brother to join clan Urdnot…” Mordin started to say.

“Sara is going to join clan Nakmor,” Morda told Mordin firmly.

“She has family in clan Urdnot…” Mordin replied.

“Having blood in a clan already doesn’t mean the family member must follow…” Morda argued.

“She’s an Urdnot!” Mordin argued back.

“No, she’s a Nakmor!”

Bakara turned to Sara and gestured for her to slip away. “They’ll be at it for a while,” she explained when they managed to get a little away.

“Krogans do like a good argument,” Jane added with a smile.

 _Do I have to join a clan?_ Sara asked silently.

 _Sadly yes… if you don’t… they’ll get all whiney and huffy,_ Jane replied.

“Finished convincing her?” Bakara asked and Jane nodded.

“Yeah… I didn’t have a choice… Wrex made me clan, it is your right to choose which clan you’ll join. Take your time… investigate the pros and cons of each clan and then make your choice, they’ll just have to live with it.” Jane added and Bakara laughed.

Aria stood and stretched she then decided to stretch her legs. “I need a drink.”

Jack reached into her jacket and pulled out a flask and went to offer it but Ashley snatched it. “Come on…” _It’s not like we can…_ her words petered off as Ashley opened the flask and took a swig before offering it to Aria.

 _Stay out of trouble,_ Ashley told the pair after wincing as she swallowed, whatever was in the flask was close to a hundred proof, she then walked off.

Aria took a few swigs before she returned it to Jack, Jack took a swig before returning the flask to her pocket. Jack went to wander around but found herself cornered by security and Tann.

“Arrest…” Juran started to say.

“Woah…” Jack said as she held out a hand, slowly she reached into a pocket on her thigh and pulled out a pad.

“Stop… criminal…” Juran ordered, “stop her…” he told the guards.

“I wouldn’t do that…” Edi warned, “but then again… I’m not an idiot…”

Jack finished retrieving the pad and slowly offered it to the scared Salarian. “Records which prove I was absolved of my criminal history after the war, my acceptance into the Alliance, my commission as an N7 and then the Allied Fleet as a Lieutenant, then as a special instructor at Grissom and finally on Defiance and the Normandy. I am now considered… dependable.” She explained.

 _Shale I steal his pants?_ Kasumi asked silently.

 _Better not,_ Aria remarked, _Salarians are ugly naked_. She handed a similar pad to Juran. “Proof that I never committed crimes in Council space and if I had they were absolved for my participation in the war. Then my commission as a N7, code named ‘Alpha’ then as a member of Defiance and the Normandy. Just so you know… the don’t fuck with Aria rule… is law on Defiance.”

Kasumi walked into his field of view and handed him a pad, “What they said.” Zaeed and Miranda held up their own pads to show they had them too.

“Director…” Jane said as she sauntered over, “you aren’t harassing my people, right?” she asked.

“They are criminals…” Juran stated.

“Lieutenant Nought, Lieutenant Commander Lawson, Specialists T’loak, Massani and Goto were absolved of any and all crimes, proven or insinuated after the war.” Isallah said as she had come with Jane.

“Yeah I thought the Hanar would never forgive Jack for vandalising one of their moons… but they did.” Jane added.

“You… vandalised… a moon?” Aria asked both bewildered and impressed with what Jack had done.

Jack shrugged, “I flew a stolen ship into their moon, they called it vandalism.” She explained.

“You broke their moon,” Jane reminded her.

Aria’s lips twitched but everyone could hear her mental laugh.

“All crimes were forgiven, I also believe your ‘vandalism’ is a tourist attraction now, they’ve earnt enough money to repair their moon a hundred times over by now but they leave it as is because you did it,” Isallah added.

Jack frowned as Jane laughed, after a few moments Jane went serious as she locked her eyes with Juran’s, “no one… on my ship, Defiance or Normandy, is a criminal.” She stated firmly. “I warn you now, if you bar my people from the Nexus… that’s fine… but it will seriously limit our trade and Non-aggression treaty.”

Jane turned and left, Jack, Aria and Kasumi followed her.

 _Thea make sure there are clauses in our Trade and Non-aggression treaties include not treating some of our people as criminals._ Jane told her silently.

 _I was expecting him to pull something like that, just not this soon,_ Thea replied, _not to worry I have such clauses built into them._ Aria walked over to join her bondmate.

“Jane…” Sara brought Jane before someone, “This is Captain Nozomi Dunn.” Sara introduced.

Nozomi offered her hand to Jane and Jane took it and gave it a firm shake. “Thanks for taking care of my siblings.” She said with a smile, Nozomi was one of Jien and Alec’s picks, she was loyal to the initiative and the initiative only, the Illusive man had wanted to turn her, but had quickly released the Human ark… was out of his control and out of his ability to infiltrate the command.

Nozomi smiled, “Just doing my job.” She told Jane. “So, I have a bunch of Alec’s things with me, Sara said you would be taking them?” she said easily, not raising any suspicion.

Jane nodded, “Yeah, although they will just go into the quarters, I am organising for her and Scott when they come to visit.”

Nozomi nodded in understanding.

“I heard you might be needing a new ship, if you ever think about swapping organisations…” Jane offered and Nozomi grinned.

“At the moment I am busy, but… I really do want to fly these new stars.” Nozomi told her as she quickly glanced around. Jane typed on her omni-tool and the spheres on them went away, including the cloaked ones.

“Safe to talk.” Jane told her.

Nozomi stepped closer, “If you are going to move Sam… do it soon and do them all.”

Jane frowned, “Hey guys I’m just going to go organise Alec’s things with Captain Dunn and get them on the Normandy. Legionnaire… with me.” _Kasumi… you too please and be cloaked._ She called and the small group left. Once they were completely out of sight Jane typed on her omni-tool creating interference so people couldn’t easily record or hack them. “Explain.” She said as they continued to move.

“I’ve been aware that something is wrong with the leadership for a while but I didn’t have a way to protect Sara. Sara was out for a while after defeating the Archon, Director Tann…”

“I’ve seen,” Jane stated as they got to the Normandy, boxes were already being unloaded from the ship Nozomi had come in. Legionnaire started to process the boxes and assigned them places in storage.

“It’s gotten worse. I’ve spoken with the other Ark captains… they don’t like what Tan has done to the Pathfinders. He has changed everything Alec originally created. Pathfinders were meant to work with the Nexus, not for, they were meant to work for the Arks and only the Arks.” She explained and Jane nodded.

“So… you want the Pathfinders to go to Defiance, to be autonomous?”

Nozomi nodded.

Legionnaire walked over with a pad and offered it to Jane. “The large crate needs power,” he explained discreetly.

“Legionnaire, that crate contains my foster mom… make sure it is safe but before you go… what would it take to remove all the Sam nodes from the Arks all at once?”

Legionnaire typed on his omni-tool and sent it to Jane, “I thought something like this might need to be planned, so Tali and I investigated what it would take and what we would need.” He turned and went into the Normandy to get help moving boxes.

“I will need to speak with the other captains, the settlement leaders, Moshae, Sloane, Morda and maybe even Efra, definitely Thea before going ahead. We would be causing a problem with the Nexus, a shift in an already very delicate power balance and I can’t make that decision in a vacuum.”

Nozomi nodded in understanding.

“Kasumi?” Jane glanced to her left where Kasumi was cloaked.

“Yes boss?” Kasumi asked startling Nozomi who didn’t know there was another person with them.

“Make contact with those I listed; we’ll have a video conference with them in three days.” Jane ordered as she gave Kasumi the specifics as a message to pass to each person. Jane didn’t need to contact the Pathfinders for their opinion as they were coming to Defiance with Sara when they left.

“On it… by the way… I found bugs. I destroyed them.” Kasumi explained before she walked off to do as Jane asked.

“Why three days?” Nozomi asked.

“Enough time for everyone to get back to their homes. Right… the Arks still attached… Legionnaire… three of the covert comm spheres… the smallest ones… give them to Kasumi to pass on to the Ark captains.”

Legionnaire nodded as he carried a box pass them.

“You’ve thought about this?” Nozomi asked.

Jane nodded, “the moment Sara told her story, I started to think we might have to do something drastic. I’m sure my people were of the same opinion so started to do what they do best.”

Jane watched the large crate get loaded, Skjót was in charge of it, Nozomi and Jane both knew that the crate contained Ellen’s cryopod.

“Skjót, make sure that is locked down tight please,” Jane called and the Geth waved at her as Trix helped control the hover cart the crate had been put on.

 _Garrus, when we get back on the Normandy do a full bug sweep of people, cargo and the ship, Zaeed you come back on the Tempest and do the same with them before they get near us._ Jane ordered. The Tempest and the other pathfinders had all organised to have training after this, which they were, it was just going to happen on Defiance. Drack however was getting his implants replaced and some new organs transplanted, he was then going to be tanked in a special medi-gel designed for Krogan to help him heal for a day.

 _On it,_ both men replied.

“We better get back, my people can be rowdy,” Jane told Nozomi and she chuckled.

“That I can believe,” Nozomi replied, “Aria T’loak… seriously?”

Jane chuckled as they both returned to the meeting place. “Aria is… well I manage to make friends in weird places.”

Jane noticed Sara wave her over, “Hey is it okay if we bring Andraknor, he is a Heskaarl in the Resistance and overheard that we are going to Defiance for training, he is… interested.”

Jane grinned, “Cool… as long as Efra is okay with it.”

“I have already received permission,” Andraknor told her. “May I come in the Normandy?”

Jane nodded, “No problem with that just be ready to leave when we are.”


	20. Chapter 20 ~ Pathfinders grow

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 20 ~ Pathfinders grow.

Drack woke slowly, they had started on Drack’s treatment the moment they left the Nexus, as he had travelled with them on the Normandy. Jane knocked him out shortly after he got out of his armour, she did it with a half serious head butt, he had not expected it to work but it did and once he was out, they had the drugs to keep him out. They had removed all of the synthetic parts for his limbs and started the complicated process of fixing his nerve damage before they even got to Defiance.

It took him a few moments to realise that he wasn’t feeling any pain, the pain he had lived with for centuries, it was gone. It felt strange to not be in pain anymore, he lifted his right arm to see his new limb.

“Walking might take a little practise; you don’t have a VI controlling your leg anymore.” Karin told him. “Glitch wanted Debra’s limbs to be purely mechanical, working on the body’s own electrical impulses, just in case it took a while to rebuild computers and stuff after the war.” Ra’yven explained.

“How do you feel?” Miranda asked as she took his synthetic hand and then poked it with a sharp probe.

He felt the sensation and jerked his hand away from the pain. “That hurt,” he complained.

Miranda grabbed his hand and held a hot tool to it.

“Shit!” He yanked his hand away the burning sensation was still there.

“Look at your hand,” Miranda told him and he did. “You have full sensation, you can feel hot, you can feel cold, you can feel pain… but no damage… you will need to learn to work pass that.”

Ra’yven grabbed his hand and whacked it hard with a metal pipe, “You would have to sit it in a plasma fire or crush it with hundreds of metric tons in order to damage your new limbs. Bullets won’t even penetrate.”

“Like I said, you’ll feel, you’ll just have to teach yourself not to react, took Edi ages to figure it out when Ra’yven upgraded her body.” Miranda told him.

“Ready to try standing and walking?” Karin asked.

Drack nodded, they angled the chair he was sitting in to make it easier to stand. “Where is everyone?” he asked, surprised they weren’t here to greet him.

“Training,” Karin told him firmly, “It is highly likely that you will fall flat on your face during your first few steps, we won’t laugh or tease you about it because we are your doctors.”

“We might chuckle,” Miranda corrected, “But it won’t leave this room, even turned off the cameras so there is no embarrassing footage for anyone to find.”

Drack considered them for a moment, “Thanks.” He told them before he took a deep breath and went to step forward, he managed two steps before face planting like Karin predicted. Miranda snorted but managed not to laugh.

Drack waited but the three women in the room didn’t race to help him, they left him to figure out how to move his body, he was actually glad they weren’t fussing over him. Using his new limbs, he got onto his hands and knees, his left knee had also been fixed while he was out, he then shakily got to his feet.

“Here,” Karin offered him a walking stick to help stabilise his body as he figured out walking again. “You shouldn’t need it for long, just until your mind remembers what it is like to walk again.” She explained when he glared at the offered item.

Grudgingly Drack took the stick and started to slowly move around the room. Each lap saw his stride improve and his walking become smoother. After his fiftieth time around the room he handed the walking stick to Karin and started to move without its aide.

“Lift your knees higher Drack and start taking lunging steps every now and again.” Lexi told him and he nodded and started to do that. Another fifty laps with just a few trips and a stumble but he mastered it.

“Side steps now, try to hop as you do it,” Miranda stated as she made herself comfortable and Drack started to do as asked.

After another hour of testing his walking and range of movement they finally cleared Drack to put his armour back on. “Huh… I feel air on my leg… that is odd…”

“Then get new armour parts.” Karin told him. “Come on… I’m hungry and lunch is ready.”

Drack nodded and as a group they left Miranda’s lab and went to the mess. Sara’s team had been given level 6 clearance on Defiance, it meant they could go almost anywhere without having to be escorted, the only places they weren’t allowed without an escort were the private high security labs in the military section.

They joined the throng waiting patiently to collect their meals before joining the others at their table.

Sara smiled at him, “Drack do you feel like a new Krogan?” she asked.

Drack considered her for a moment, “I feel great… probably makes me feel less than thousand years old.”

“So, you’ll be running with us in the morning?” Jane asked with a grin.

“He will jog… he still needs to get used to moving properly,” Karin corrected. “He can also do light training but no sparring… for now.”

Drack turned to Andraknor who was across from him, the Angara was eating quietly. “Did they shock you or wear you out?” he asked.

“Both,” Andraknor replied, he was a Heskaarl, an elite special force and even amongst the elite he was considered to be on top. Just running with them this morning had shown he wasn’t as fit, more so when he noticed they were running with weighted wraps on their limbs and chest to make them heavier. Jane had explained the added weight was generally the same weight or a little heavier as their armour, gear and weapons. Most then continued to wear the weight as they trained, first on exercise equipment then on their martial arts moves and sparring. He had then sparred with Samantha, one of the weaker members of the group, she ran rings around him but Jane had then explained that was because Samantha was trained in a style which used the other persons strength as their weakness. Jane had then taken him aside and introduced him to a specialist who started teaching him the style of martial arts they used. It had been an enlightening process.

“Don’t try to compare yourself to them,” Karin told him. “They are freaks and they are the first to admit it.”

Andraknor chuckled, “That’s what they told me. Still… makes me want to train harder, I am an elite…”

“There are Elites back in the Milky Way who feel just as you do.” Isallah said as she walked forward.

“Councillor Isallah,” Jane greeted, “to what do we owe the pleasure?” she asked.

“I was hoping to steal you and Thea for a little bit,” Isallah asked.

Jane finished her lunch, “Sure. Ashley… after lunch take them to the range and have them do target practise on green to orange targets.” She ordered. Green to Orange meant the difficulty colours of the targets which went; green; blue; yellow, orange, red and black, green targets were 6inch squares; each colour got smaller by one until black which was a 1inch square.

“Sure, thing Skipper,” Ashley answered after swallowing.

Jane topped up her coffee and stood, Thea jammed the last of her lunch into her mouth, grabbed her tea and stood to follow Jane with Isallah. After a ten-minute walk they were in Jane’s office, it was rather spartan but it served its purpose. Isallah pretended to sit next to Thea.

“Okay is it just you?” Jane asked, Isallah shook her head, a few moments later Bakara and Glitch appeared. “Let me guess… concerns with the Nexus?”

The three holograms nodded, “Major concerns,” Bakara stated, she had spoken with Morda and Drack, Sara had not been lying about what had happened or what Juran had allowed to continue to happen while he was in charge.

“Juran is the worse person to have in charge…” Glitch added.

“We have to remember,” Thea said cutting in, “That he was set up to fail, that was what was planned.”

“Still…” Jane stated and got nods.

“What did Captain Dunn want?” Bakara asked.

“Huh… you noticed?” Jane asked.

“Like I wouldn’t notice you two wondering off to for the simple act of transferring personal belongings.” Bakara told her.

Jane nodded, “She asked if we were going to move Sam from the Hyperion and if we were, to do them all.”

“Thus, freeing the pathfinders from Nexus control,” Thea stated with a frown, “And why we are having a meeting with all the leaders except for those on the Nexus to get their opinions.”

Isallah sighed, “Thank the goddess, I thought for a moment you would just do it?”

Jane chuckled, “No, the power balance here is delicate, if I change it any further without consulting, we risk our non-aggression and trade treaties as well as break our own code.”

Thea smiled, “Jane is a person of action… however, she knows when not to act.”

“That being said Legionnaire and Tali already have a plan to move the nodes without shutting down the active Sam’s, where they can securely house the nodes, the power grids are already being modified and Samantha is already working on how they would move their quantum connections and how to integrate them into ours.” Jane added which caused Bakara to laugh.

“Better to have it and not need it,” Thea stated and Jane nodded.

“And what are you doing?” Isallah asked.

“I left Kasumi behind, she is digging around, poking her nose into everything she can, she is also going to try to get the exact locations of some of the Illusive man’s people so that when we are ready, we can oust them. Kesh knows she’s there so Kasumi has a place to hide and sleep if she needs it.” Jane explained.

Bakara sighed, “We really missed having Kasumi working for us.” After the war Kasumi was approached by the Council and was offered a job, to be a spy, she was paid to break into things to dig for information. She had made their lives considerably easier when it came to gathering information.

“But you have a Shadow Agent working for you right?” Jane asked and all three nodded. Shadow Agent was the job title Kasumi held, essentially, they were a Spectre only they were covert, completely off the books.

“Five actually,” Isallah corrected, “But I’ve heard that Kasumi was… is the best.”

“Oh yeah,” Jane said with a smile, “there was this one time we were investigating a businessman for some serious breaches of council law. She was literally right beside him and recording him as he did his deals, he never knew she was there.”

Bakara grinned, “The look on his face when he was shown the footage.”

“Yeah she’s good, scared the crap out of Dunn when she started talking.” Jane stated.

“What will you do with the Illusive man’s people?” Isallah asked.

“Jack wants to crush skulls and some will be killed as they are just too dangerous to leave alive, others hopefully will be removed from positions of power and probably either exiled or used for hard labour.” Jane answered. “But that will be up to the Nexus and the settlements, we will put forward suggestions but as we are automatous, we can’t interfere with their internal politics.”

“What about the ones who need to die?” Isallah asked.

Jane grinned, “I have two retired Drell assassins on Defiance, a few retired Spectres, a handful of active Spectres, a couple of ex Shadow broker Agents, Asari commandos and Justicars. Between us I am sure we can make them disappear if we need to and leave no evidence that we were responsible for it.”

Isallah considered Jane for a moment, she totally believed Jane could do what she just said. Then realised exactly what she said, “You have Broker Agents?”

Jane nodded, “Ex but yes, they work for Liara in the commons and as our traders, it will be their job to gather information during their work and get it back to Liara. It is also their job to extend the network during their travels.”

“So Liara…” Bakara remarked with a grin.

“I don’t understand?” Isallah remarked.

Bakara turned to Isallah, “You aren’t in on this, if you want to be you have to swear to keep it quiet.”

Isallah considered Bakara for a moment, the fact she wasn’t making the same demand of Glitch or Thea meant that they were already aware of this. Did she want to be in on this secret? She considered. For the most part, Glitch, Bakara and herself were in charge of maintaining contact with Defiance and now Heleus, and then keeping the rest of the Council up to date with what was going on. It would probably make things easier if she was in on important secrets, she thought and then she nodded, “It will make things easier if you don’t have to watch what you say.”

The others nodded in agreement.

“You are probably aware of one Normandy mission that is still classified top secret with Asari secrecy protocol conditions on it?” Jane asked and Isallah nodded, she knew of the mission Jane spoke of, it was one of the missions before the Omega run when Liara had briefly re-joined the team. Jane, Jack and Liara had gone on it and that was all that she knew as the rest was classified.

“There are a lot of people who were shocked when they found out that Asari protocols were on that mission, five thousand years before people can read about it.” Isallah remarked.

Jane nodded, “You might have seen me say that I went and had words with the Shadow Broker… it was done during that mission.” Jane said and Isallah nodded she had seen footage of Jane saying she went and had words with the Broker and after that the Broker’s alliance had changed in their favour. “Well… we did have words… then I killed him… a pet Yahg had killed and taken over for the previous Broker.”

“A Yahg?” Isallah questioned, the race still existed, the Reapers had ignored their existence during the war and their star system was currently under strict lock down, Yahg weren’t allowed out and no one was allowed in. Until the Yahg stopped being so violent then they might consider dialling back the restrictions.

“Yeah… so… I killed him… and Liara became the Shadow Broker.” Jane explained simply.

Isallah was silent for a few moments as she sorted through what she knew had happened and added that piece of information to it, it both did and didn’t make sense. “But you did jobs for the Broker during the war… it is in your records?”

Jane nodded, “Yeah… Liara did that to provide misdirection, she didn’t want people to know she was the Shadow Broker just that she is a very good information broker.” Jane frowned, “Still frustrating though, pretending that my love and the Shadow Broker were two different people instead of being one and the same.”

Isallah nodded, “Is she going to setup a similar network there?”

“Same, same but different.” Jane replied. “She will probably have to take over the Collective, what passes for an information network here, and we definitely need to take out a person with the code name Charlatan, real name Reyes Vidal, he is on Miranda’s list of Illusive man’s people sent to cause dissention.”

Isallah grinned impressed, “One month… you’ve been there one month and you already know all of this?”

Jane grinned, “My sister told us and let me read her private logs.” She admitted.

“Ah… makes sense…” Isallah stated.

“We’ve managed to locate almost everyone on Miranda’s list except for William Spender, but because he is behind the Krogan being ousted and the continued harassment of Non-humans, he will make sure he is hard to find, there are a lot of angry people who want his head, Sloane Kelly being one of them.”

“How many are already dead?” Isallah asked.

“A third didn’t make it through the 14 months of upheaval, another dozen were killed by Sara when she was doing her pathfinder work.” Thea explained. “However, going on what we’ve learnt there are ex-Cerberus here and they too have been causing mischief. Miranda is going through lists of people who came to identify them against the lists of operatives she has so that we can find them.”

“And then?” Bakara asked.

“We’ll talk to them, warn them that we will be watching, that we will take actions if they continue with their human supremacy trope…” Jane began, “But I am hoping that our little display, access to the beacons will give them a firm kick in the arse.”

Bakara chuckled.

“Humans are adaptable,” Glitch remarked with a nod.

*~*~*~*

Jane and Sara walked into Ra’yven’s lab; they had a few hours before the conference call so they wanted to find out what Ra’yven’s scanners had managed to learn about Ellen’s condition. If there was a way to treat it. Both glanced to the large scanning bed and on it was Ellen’s cryo chamber.

Ra’yven was leant on a table and chewing on a jerky stick as she studied her scans but it wasn’t of Ellen it was of a rem-tech data node.

“Ra’yven,” Jane said before she flicked the tip of her ear.

Ra’yven turned, “Hey… I think… I can use this tech to completely rebuild Edi’s node and even the Sam nodes, make them a heck of a lot more efficient and smaller.”

“Cool,” Jane said not even pausing. Usually when Ra’yven said she could do something; she did so Jane didn’t even think to question her. Much to Glitch’s chagrin she had managed to improve her implant design by several steps.

“Right… Ellen,” Ra’yven remarked as she bounced over to another table and brought up the scans of her sleeping guest. “I already sent the scans to Miranda and Karin. I want to move her to a tank but won’t until I get the go ahead from Karin and Miranda.”

“Tank?” Sara asked.

Ra’yven nodded, “Tanks are better, we can also treat her cryo sickness first.”

Sara frowned, “You mean, Neural Decay, right?”

Ra’yven nodded, “She’s showing signs of it, Lexi’s serum however can’t be used on your mom because she can’t handle it but, tanking her should correct it.”

“How bad is it?” Sara asked as she walked over to her mother’s chamber.

“Going on what I have read, bad… but… I don’t think untreatable.” Ra’yven answered.

“So, you can treat her?” Sara asked.

“In theory, yes.” Ra’yven answered.

“That’s good because we have nothing,” Karin said having walked in from her own room with Miranda.

“END syndrome vanished in humans four hundred years ago, they hadn’t managed a cure.” Miranda added.

Ra’yven considered Miranda, “Makes sense, that’s what… five or six generations since humans started using Eezo with any regularity. Each generation mutating a little more to adapt to it… I take it human biotics are common now?” she asked and Miranda nodded.

“However, it seems Jack is still considered the most powerful human biotic.” Miranda added as she tossed Jane a pad which she caught.

“Really…” Jane queried, “Surely some have managed to surpass Jack?”

Miranda shook her head as she pointed at the pad which Jane started to read, it was biotic readings of the current human biotics, compared to the readings of Jack, Miranda and Jane back before their trip and none of those readings got close. “For the most part human biotics are only a little stronger than Jack’s last bunch of students were.”

Jane frowned, “So… roughly normal maiden commando strength?”

Miranda nodded, “About right, there are always some outliers, like with Asari, but even then, none get close to any of us before we were upgraded.”

“Probably has more to do with the fact we were deliberately dosed with powered Eezo.” Sara added and the others nodded.

“And sadly, for your mother she too was exposed but she was too old to adapt.” Ra’yven remarked.

“So, your plan?” Karin asked.

“Modified tank and suspension liquid. Instead of green holding liquid I was going to use a special liquid known as primordial ooze, tailored exactly to Ellen’s body and DNA.” Ra’yven answered and noticed blank looks. “There was a condition that was treated this way, caused all kinds of dangerous tumours.”

“You’ve done this before?” Karin asked.

Ra’yven shook her head, “No… not my field exactly, but I did build the tank for it so I know all about it.”

“Explain this a little more for me,” Sara asked.

Ra’yven nodded, “Think of a very powerful medi-gel, filled with DNA and stem cells cloned from her own healthy cells, micro bots will use the ooze to recreate and replace the damaged tissues and organs.”

“What about the tumours in her brain?” Karin asked.

“The micro-bots will break them up and remove the diseased tissue, they will not replace brain matter but they will fix neural connections. She might lose some memories. However, after occupational therapy she should be able to talk, walk and move normally. We can also do gene therapy, make it so that her body can handle Eezo, she’ll be biotic…”

“Are you going to use my bots or Sara’s?” Jane asked.

“Sara’s are still doing weird things, yours aren’t,” Ra’yven answered.

“But then she’ll be enhanced?” Karin asked and Ra’yven nodded.

“Enhanced?” Sara asked.

“The micro-bots in Jane are living machines…” Miranda started to say.

“Survive…” Sara stated as that was what she had been told Jane had used to awaken her tech.

Everyone nodded.

“Stronger, faster, more powerful,” Karin added.

“And we can’t use my tech?” Sara asked.

Ra’yven shook her head, “Jane’s tech wasn’t still recreating itself when she first managed to share her tech with Liara. Yours… hasn’t even figured out what it needs to be yet to help you survive because that is the same thought that you projected. The problem, your tech was in touch with tech completely alien to it when you awakened them and it had nothing to work as a filter.”

Sara nodded, “When I interfaced without Sam.”

Ra’yven nodded, “You exposed awakening tech to alien programming and alien technology. We have no idea how it is going to evolve, how it is going to change you, let alone if you can share it.” Ra’yven scratched the back of her neck, “We can wait until we know what your tech will do. Or do it now.”

Jane gripped Sara’s shoulder, “You and Scott need to talk about this.”

“But…” Sara started to say.

“Hey, I’m the goofy older adopted sibling, you and Scott are the children she birthed. I’ll support whatever you two decide.” Jane told her.

“But you’ll be there?” Sara asked and Jane nodded.

“Should we warn the other Pathfinders…” Miranda started to say.

“No need, only Scott and Sara have the exact same implants Alec and Ellen have.” Ra’yven cut in, “I scanned them.” she added before anyone could ask. “I mean… I don’t have Alec’s scans so I am assuming, but based on what Sara said of the Habitat 7 mission he probably had the second prototype, Ellen has the first, Sara has the third and Scott has the fourth.”

“So, Scott needs to be aware…” Sara surmised.

“At least until he is enhanced by one of you.” Ra’yven stated.

“Sara and I need to go, Ra’yven, Miranda, Karin, please write it all up, one for academics and one that idiots can understand,” Jane said and Sara snorted in amusement as she knew Jane was referring to Scott.

The other three women grinned in amusement.

Sara and Jane left the room, “You know, I am so telling Scott you think he is an idiot.”

Jane grinned, “Come on… do you really think he will understand a treatment plan full of scientific terms? That’s even if there are translatable words for what Ra’yven needs to say?” she asked and Sara shook her head.

“Nah, he’ll just say, tell it to me straight, my head hurts.” Sara responded and both laughed as they got into the lift. They travelled in silence for several moments before Sara turned and hit a red plate that said hit me. She had found it curious when she saw several of them in all of the lifts and now understood why they were here.

“Dad didn’t have to come here to cure mom… he didn’t have to die,” Sara explained even as pain radiated out from her fist and up her arm.

“True… but you guys might not have survived the Reapers.” Jane consoled her. “So many died Sara, it was kind of a relief to not have to worry about you and Scott and Alec as well as everything else I was worrying about.” Jane held out her hand, “show me.”

Sara turned and offered her hand to Jane, Jane studied it for several moments. “I did worse to my fists during my grieving for my parents. We’ll treat it when we get there.” _Thea can you get a bucket of ice for Sara?_ Jane asked.

 _Sure,_ Thea replied not even bothering to ask why it was needed.

“I wondered why you had these…” Sara said as she gestured to the hit and kick plates.

“Yeah, Ra’yven made them, Jack can hit them with a full focused shockwave and not break the lift’s frame. An engineer will get the notification to replace the hit plate and will probably be waiting for us when we stop.” Jane explained, “Makes sense… sometimes we just have to… hit… something…”

“As long as it isn’t someone,” Sara agreed as the lift came to a halt and slid open to reveal a human woman chewing gum, holding work tools and a new hit plate. She had some very vicious scars on the left side of her face and her left eye and hand were clearly synthetic and, in a way, looked similar to something Glitch designed.

“Told ya, hey Tammy,” Jane greeted.

“Commander…” the engineer walked in and went straight to work after overriding the lift’s functions so that it was out of action.

“How many plates have you replaced today?” Jane asked.

“Including this one, two hits and one kick.” She answered.

“So, the numbers have dropped?” Jane continued.

“Yeah, more so since the majority of the commons has opened, more things for people to blow off steam with and the Therapists have finally gotten into a rhythm. I will ask the other sections and send a report at the end of the week.” Tammy replied as she pulled the used hit plate off.

“Thanks.” Jane told her before they both left.

“Vet?” Sara asked, gently.

“Tammy, nah, civilian… she repaired gear for the Alliance during the war for rations and protection. She was a street kid and was good at finding junk and using it to repair and build things. Real boon for Debra’s squad when she joined up with them.” Jane explained. “After the war Debra, Glitch and I got her into Grissom to train her engineering skills, she learnt under David, Ra’yven and Bolts. When this came up, she applied, she’s a little brash but she’s a genius.”

Sara gave her a confused look.

Jane grinned, “Tammy is the Engineering Chief in charge of the military section, she second to Ra’yven as Defiance Base engineering chief.” She explained, “She will probably help build Ellen’s tank, that is just how good she is. Companies were scouting her but she didn’t want corporate life. Wanted the grease under her nails, to tinker and play, already she has lists of things she wants to get a hold of to pull apart.”

Sara could understand wanting a fresh start.

“Everyone has a reason to come Sara. Surely you know that.” Jane explained as they walked into her office. Thea handed a bucket of ice to Sara; a first aid kit was open and laid out ready for use. Sara pushed her fist into the icy water and sighed.

“Oh, that is better,” Sara breathed.

“Probably broke some bones…” Jane said and went to call someone.

“I already called Aalita, she’s coming.” Thea stopped her.

“Thanks…” Jane replied and Thea nodded.

Five minutes later Aalita walked in with her own med kit and walked over to Sara, “What did you do?” she asked in a business-like tone as she put her bag down and took the offered towel.

“Punched a hit plate,” Sara explained as she pulled her hand out of the ice.

“Better a hit plate, biotic, non-biotic?” Aalita asked as she carefully dried Sara’s hand. Then studied it carefully

“No biotics,” Sara answered.

Aalita glanced up at Sara, “Are you sure about that…”

“Sara did not use biotics, but her body is enhanced.” Sam answered for her.

“Right, profiles…” Aalita lifted a pad which could scan and had a look at the damage, Lexi had shared everything she had on Sara with the Normandy medical team if only because they had a unique understanding and could give her advice. “Humans call it boxers’ fractures or broken knuckles.” She put Sara’s hand back into the ice then went to her things.

“Were you hoping for a malfunctioning hit plate?” Thea asked.

“Yeah,” Aalita answered.

Thea turned to Sara, “See if you had used Biotics a shield would have activated to mitigate the damage.” She explained and checked the time. “Aalita… you have five minutes then you have to go.”

Aalita nodded and got to work treating Sara’s hand then packed up after giving Sara a pain killer. She left with thirty seconds to spare and took the ice bucket with her. The Pathfinders were led in and were a little confused as they were the only ones here.

Jane checked the time then quickly explained what was asked of her and why they were here.

“Tann has been trying to order me around,” Vederia added. “I’ve ignored him for the most part.”

“Same,” Avitus and Lumont stated.

“Can it be done?” Vederia asked.

“It can but I cannot make that decision.” Jane answered just as spheres started to turn on.

The Angara leaders, settlement leaders and Ark captains appeared.

“No Nexus?” Efra questioned having noticed they weren’t here quickly.

Jane nodded, “Captain Dunn…” she turned to the Nozomi and gestured for her to speak.

“I am concerned with how the Nexus is treating Pathfinders. Pathfinders were never meant to work for the Nexus, but for the Arks. The Nexus was meant to be a rally point yes, it is why they carried the pathfinder ships and gear as there wasn’t room on the arks. But that was it, the Nexus was never meant to be in charge, never meant to control. It is why the Sam nodes are on the arks.” Nozomi explained.

“And Tann’s… posturing and interference nearly cost us Meridian and the sector,” Efra stated.

“So, what are you proposing?” August asked.

“That the Pathfinders and Sam’s go to Defiance. I would prefer them out of Nexus control, to have them do their jobs, which is to work for the people, to find homes for the people, resources for the people…” Nozomi stated.

“Does that include the Angara?” Efra asked.

“Everyone except the Kett.” Nozomi corrected. “Exiles, settlements, whatever. The Pathfinders are meant to help us all and they can’t do that if the Nexus continues to control them.”

“But then they become controlled by the Commander…” Kiiran remarked.

“Better Jane than the Nexus, have you looked at all that she did during the war, she always… always puts the people first,” August stated.

“Also, if you like since none of you have signed non-aggression and trade treaties you can add clauses which prevent Defiance controlling the Pathfinders.” Thea added, like Nozomi and Jane she wanted the Pathfinders out from under the Nexus’s thumb.

“Or they can stay here until we or they can find a suitable base for themselves.” Jane slid in.

“And if they can’t?” August asked.

“Then we can readdress this at a later time.” Jane answered without hesitation. “We can make a signed declaration that informs everyone that the Pathfinders are only using Defiance until they can find their own base and that we at no time will demand or control them.”

“However, if we do that,” Thea began, “You, the people Pathfinders and their teams work for will have to supply them with resources and us with resources to support them.”

They all thought for long moments, the Pathfinders couldn’t go to a world because if that world already had people it would be like they were siding with them, ideally, they needed a portable base, similar to Defiance or even Meridian core.

“What about Meridian Core?” Moshae asked. “Would that not be a perfect place to set up the Pathfinders and their organisation?”

“It will need a lot of time to repair to make habitable.” Sara stated. “But didn’t Angaran scientists want to study it, to find out more about the people who created you?”

“You have learnt more about the remnant in the little amount of time you’ve been here compare to all the time we’ve had. Leaving you in and the Pathfinders in charge of the Core is important. It isn’t like you won’t allow scientists to come research.” Moshae answered and got nods.

“So, in the declaration we can specify that they are with us until Meridian Core is habitable and then they will be based there.” Jane added.

“But Tann…” August started to say.

“Leave him to me,” Thea stated firmly, “I’ve been a politician for centuries… if he thinks he can slip in stupid clauses and cause problems I will prevent it, I can do that much once they are independent.”

“They are going to need a mandate,” Jane stated absentmindedly.

“A what?” Efra asked.

“Mandate… manifesto… prime directive,” Jane started to list and got a chuckle from Sloane at Prime directive.

“An ethos or code,” Thea explained, “something that governs them, gives them parameters for situations, what they can and cannot do as Pathfinders. We have one for Defiance and Normandy. It is why we are here talking to you instead of just doing it. Our mandate, we are not allowed to interfere or take sides in internal disputes nor are our actions allowed to add to them.” Thea explained as she sent copies of the Mandate to the others for them to go over at their leisure.

Jane turned to the Pathfinders, “You four should work on that together… have you thought about an Angara Pathfinder?” she added rapidly.

“Jane… don’t rush them,” Thea told her. “I can give advice but I cannot influence you in the creation of your mandate.”

Sara nodded.

“So… we’re doing this?” Jane asked.

“You have a plan already?” Sloane surmised.

Jane nodded, “My guys like to be prepared, we have a slight complication about doing it in one go but we can… fool the Nexus into thinking it was done in one motion instead of in a staggered process. But we cannot do it without your permission, we will be effecting the power balance…”

“It needs to be done,” August told her firmly, Sloane and Morda nodded in agreement as did the ship captains.

Jane turned to the Angara and waited for them.

“It would be better if the Pathfinders aren’t being controlled, however, I agree with the Supreme Fleet Commander, they need a Mandate which will govern their actions so that they don’t actively meddle or are forced to. We need to know what we can and cannot ask of them as much as they need to know what they can and cannot do.” Paaran stated.

“Um… just Commander is okay,” Jane told her with a grin. “I tend to not answer to anything else,” she explained as she rubbed the back of her neck and Thea chuckled. “Human councillor for ten years, my personal assistant gave up calling me Madam Councillor in the first week and just called me Commander, because I kept forgetting to answer her.”

August and Sloane chuckled.

Efra thought for several long moments before he nodded, “I would prefer Sara and the others to be away from Nexus control. Sara’s story, I think didn’t show most of problems caused by Tann.” The other Angara quickly agreed, having Sara and the Pathfinders free would benefit them.

“You guys get us resources and my guys can build them ships.” Jane added. “Tammy thinks with Kallo’s memories we can recreate Tempest’s design and build similar ships. She also wants to modify the Tempest to have one forward gun for defence.”

“But that is only if you guys think it will be fine to have Pathfinder ships with a gun.” Thea added.

There was silence as they thought, having an armed independent force could be troublesome, however, Sara had only just managed to get out of some sticky situations with blind luck. “Only Pathfinder ships?” Efra asked.

Sara glanced to the other Pathfinders and got nods, “Yes, only ships under direct control of a Pathfinder and we will make sure in our mandate to describe when we can and cannot use that gun.”

“Similar to the rules of engagement the Normandy has,” Thea added with a smile and sent copies of that to them. “By the way, we will need a letter of acknowledgement from all of you listing the Kett as an enemy which will allow the Normandy to engage them when they see them, I will organise it along with the non-aggression treaties. Also warn your people… if you shot at them their rules of engagement allow them to defend themselves regardless of non-aggression treaties.”

“You’ll have issues with the Roekaar,” Efra told Jane honestly his eyes already scanning the rules of engagement to understand what the Normandy could and couldn’t do when it came to a fight. There were clauses against chemical and biological warfare which he was thankful for as well as when they could break their non-aggression treaties and when they could fight.

“The who?” Jane asked.

“Angara Xenophobes,” Sara explained.

Jane crossed her arms, “Can’t really blame them though after everything the Kett have done, we will try not to engage them and if we do, I will tell my guys to try not to kill.”

“Sara has managed to change some very set thinking in the Roekaar but there are some extremists.” Moshae added.

“Once the pressure of the Kett is removed it might change some then it is just a matter of time, to prove we will be good neighbours.” Jane stated as she made a couple of notes on her omni-tool. “So… show of hands please, are we doing this?” she asked.

“Show of hands?” Paaran asked not understanding.

“A human thing, raise a hand if you wish to proceed with removing the Pathfinders from Nexus control.” Thea explained and watched as they all raised a hand. “I will have to get it in writing but that is enough for us to get started. I will send you a document basically outlining what was discussed here for you to sign and once we have that we will move forward actively.”

“Very official,” Efra remarked.

Thea nodded, “We have to have transparency, proof that we didn’t overstep our own mandate, that our actions were approved by a majority. As Jane would say, them the rules.”

*~*~*~*

Sara sighed as she walked out of her room, having just had a shower, her and the other Pathfinders had locked themselves in a conference room and spent the rest of the afternoon working out their mandate and rules of engagement. They had used Defiance’s and the Normandy’s mandate and rules of engagement to build their own which meant they didn’t have to start from scratch and Thea was there to point out holes and she did make sure to find them.

Jane was reading what the Pathfinders had come up with also looking for holes or things missed but Thea had advised them well. Sara huffed as she flopped into the seat next to Jane, “My head hurts.”

“Literally or figuratively?” Jane asked.

“Both,” Sara stated.

Jane frowned and touched her omni-tool, “Ra’yven, Karin, Lexi to my quarters immediately please.”

Sara frowned, “I’m fine.”

“Maybe… but I had headaches when my tech was restructuring.” Jane told her, “also… have you been feeding them…”

“I drink that foul thing you do,” Sara explained.

“Just close your eyes and calm your mind,” Jane told her and Sara did just that.

Ten minutes later Ra’yven, Lexi and Karin walked in. “Sara’s got a headache,” Jane told them firmly.

Ra’yven moved fastest to scan Sara and Karin leant over her shoulder to see the scans.

“I’ll give her…” Lexi went to prepare a pain killer.

“No,” Karin and Ra’yven said as one.

“Jane grab her and take her straight to my rooms; she’ll need to be tanked.” Ra’yven said with an urgent tone.

“They aren’t using the supplements Sara has provided them,” Karin remarked.

“Yeah but those are our supplements… not hers… and her tech… is becoming rem-tech based.” Jane stated.

“Wrong supplements…” Karin grumbled. “Peebee!”

Peebee raced from the bedroom, wrapped in a towel and still dripping wet. “Yeah?”

“We need rem-tech that can be microscopically broken down so that Sara’s tech can use it to build.” Karin told her.

“A lot,” Jane added.

“And urgently,” Ra’yven added as Jane scooped up Sara.

“We have a bunch of rem-tech on the Tempest.” Peebee explained.

“I’ll go with Peebee, get her tanked… use the tank on the far-left wall when you walk in, I modified it just for her.” Ra’yven turned to Peebee who was about to race out. “Um… clothes…”

Peebee turned around and raced back into their borrowed room and threw on a set of Sara’s sweats and a pair of sneakers. Then raced back out and with Ra’yven they raced to the Tempest, Ra’yven followed Peebee to her work room.

“I have remnant polymers,” Peebee grabbed a large box and put it on the table, it was empty so she grabbed the polymers and showed them to Ra’yven.

“Yep,” Ra’yven took half of what was in the container and put them in the box. “What else?”

“Remnant Processing cores,” Peebee answered as she returned the box in her hands and grabbed another which she showed to Ra’yven.

“Good,” Ra’yven stated as she took half of the cores and handed the box back.

“Um…” Peebee returned the box and considered what she had, “Vault forged relays,” she handed them to Ra’yven who added them to the box, “Observer lens.” She offered to Ra’yven and the box was finally full.

“Okay let’s go.” Ra’yven told her as she sealed the box and lifted it using her telekinetic powers. Together they raced back to Ra’yven’s lab.

Karin and Lexi had gotten Sara into the tank Ra’yven told them about and she was already out cold. Jane had setup the prototype machine Ra’yven had originally used to break up materials to sizes that could be used by micro-bots.

“Thanks,” Ra’yven said as she put the box down, reaching in she pulled out a piece of Rem-tech and put it on her scanner, she needed to make sure her machine wouldn’t cause an explosion if she used it to break up the technology. She started with the relays and after checking the scans she handed them to Jane. “They can go in there.” She told Jane as she handed the relay to Jane.

Jane dug out another relay and put them in the machine, she sealed it and then turned it on.

“Is she okay?” Peebee asked Karin and Lexi.

“We’ve slowed down her body, taken the stress off it, it will help.” Karin explained.

“Help?” Peebee questioned.

“Jane’s tech changed slowly but she still suffered from intense headaches, aching bones, aching body, there were days Jane could barely move. But she hid it, we had no choice but to hide it.”

Lexi and Peebee nodded.

“Sara’s tech… is confused, it is meant to be something else and is desperately trying to become what it has imprinted on.” Ra’yven explained as she studied the scans of the polymers.

“It is causing problems with Sara’s body, putting stress on it. By tanking her we are removing the stress.” Karin added. She turned to Lexi, “And now comes the long process of teaching you all that we’ve learnt when it comes to treating someone like us.”

“So that I can hide it,” Lexi said with a nod.

Karin shrugged, “That is Sara’s choice. Everyone on Defiance knows about us and our tech they knew before they left, it was because we didn’t want to have secrets. They have to keep it a secret but by knowing it, they know we trust them, it connects us.”

“It will also prevent people from freaking out when we do something weird.” Jane added.

“Which we do often,” Miranda said as she walked in through the door which lead to her lab. “I was wondering about all the noise. Let me guess, same as Jane?” she surmised and got nods.

Jane opened the machine, inside was a fine dust.

“Careful with that,” Ra’yven told her.

“I know,” Jane told her as she grabbed a vacuum like device to suck it all up into a canister. Once she had it all she handed it to Karin who mixed with a biotic slam pack and then slowly injected it into Sara’s drip. Sara’s whole body jerked a few moments after the new supplement was injected.

“Is that okay?” Lexi asked a little alarmed.

“Twitching is fine and normal,” Ra’yven told her.

“Come, let’s show you what we learnt from Jane,” Miranda offered, “Sara is in good hands.” She added.

*~*~*

“Hey where is Sara?” Vetra asked as they ate breakfast the next day, it wasn’t like her to miss training.

“She’s getting treated,” Ra’yven answered without hesitation and everyone focused on her.

“Sara is sick?” Jaal asked alarmed.

Ra’yven glanced to Jane then Peebee, she had learnt all about confidentiality so was waiting for a clue as to how much she could say.

“Not sick,” Jane told them then turned to Lexi.

“She is in good hands and showing good signs, that is all we can tell you at this moment, Sara will tell you the rest.” Lexi told the group. She had spent a good few hours with Miranda, Karin and Ra’yven learning about what was likely going on in Sara and what she would eventually be like. Ra’yven moved around while Jane broke down tech and fed it to her sister, building a device while they talked. When she finished, she presented Lexi with a modified device to break down tech like the one Jane was using.

“How much longer will she need… treatment?” Drack asked.

“The rest of the day,” Ra’yven answered, she had spent the night in a cot near Sara’s tank with Karin, just in case. Sara’s tech was rapidly changing now as it didn’t need to worry about its body because it was in a resting state, letting it condense months of changes into hours. The first few hours had been slow as the tech built a replication centre in Sara’s liver but after that it just raced forward.

“Sam?” Suvi said.

“I am fine, Sara is fine,” he answered, it was a little strange feeling his implant change around him, becoming more efficient and more integrated more so since he could now talk to the tech growing in Sara’s body. It saw Sam as being a part of Sara, an integral part and was doing its best to make that connection better.

“So today…” Ashley said as she sent the training schedule to everyone and got groans as they saw what was planned. “Hey… this is normal…”

“For you…” Peebee remarked.

Ashley watched the others for a moment, “Hey, you wanted training… we are training, not even that hard… for us… and you guys have two rest days after today.”

“Two rest days in a row?” Jack teased, “positively a holiday.”

Ashley shot Jack a glare who just grinned.

“Two days… yes!” Vetra exclaimed, she would finally get a chance to explore the commons with Trix.

“Hot date with Trix?” Peebee asked.

“None of your business,” Vetra answered but the slight rumble in her voice told the truth.

*~*~*

Peebee paced as she waited for the experts to finish their checks before letting Sara out of her tank. She noticed that Sara’s name had been put on a plate on the door indicating that this was a personal tank and could only be used by one person.

“Okay, her body has finished doing most of the major changes.” Ra’yven remarked, “the rest are just fine tuning.” Ra’yven frowned, “Those micro-bots… are interesting but don’t seem as efficient as Jane’s.”

“They might be efficient for what Sara needs them to be,” Jane told her, “Besides you haven’t really had a chance to study rem-tech.”

Ra’yven hummed for a moment before she shrugged. “Okay, she can come out.” She tapped on her omni-tool for a moment and the tank started to transfer the liquid to the storage tanks built into the back of the tank. Once it was drained there were several clicks and then the tank opened. It took a few minutes but slowly Sara woke, groggily she glanced around.

Lexi took off Sara’s breathing mask as Karin took care of her IV.

“Take your time, move your body a little.” Ra’yven coaxed.

“My head feels like it’s packed with cotton.” Sara told the room even as she did as she was told and moved her body.

“My head felt like that too,” Jane told her, “It will pass.”

Ra’yven and Peebee helped Sara from the tank and then to the bathroom to the shower it contained. Ra’yven left Peebee and Sara to it. “I hope Sara will let me get full body scans using my scan pads.”

“I am sure she will,” Jane told her.

“I’ll convince her,” Lexi added, just as curious as to the changes.

“You’ll have to teach Sara how to connect to her tech while you are in your rooms.” Ra’yven told Jane and Jane nodded.

“Huh?” Lexi asked.

“We can talk to our tech,” Jane clarified, “like at this moment I know they are curious about the new source of technology in the other room, they want to talk to it but so far all I am getting is that they talk funny. Also… apparently I need to eat more magnesium.”

Karin frowned and turned to Jane, “How long have you needed Magnesium?” she asked.

Jane shrugged, “first I’m hearing of it, I did up my calories like they asked a few weeks ago though.”

“And your protein,” Karin remarked having noticed Jane grabbing a little more food during meals and snacking a little more often than she used to.

Jane nodded, “I do listen to my tech, they are me and I am them.”

Karin nodded, she had noticed eating habits change in a lot of people over the last couple of months as they settled in with their new routines and technology.

“I could eat a space cow,” Sara remarked as she walked out of the bathroom clean and in a set of sweats. She paused and tilted her head, “Sam… that’s, not, you…”

“No, it is you,” Sam told her.

“Your tech, what did it tell you?” Jane asked a little surprised that Sara could even hear them at this moment.

“Don’t eat a cow, fish… I think.” Sara answered. “And now I realise I was actually craving fish not cow.” She added.

“Interesting… perhaps her link with Sam got her used to listening… regardless she will need training.” Ra’yven remarked.

Jane nodded, “Come on let’s go back to my home.” _Liara, can you get fish, Sara is carving it._ She added silently to her bondmate.

 _Yum… I could go seafood tonight as well. Will do… what will you make?_ Liara asked back.

 _Depends on what you can get, let me know what’s available and I’ll tell you what else we’ll need._ Jane answered. “Liara is going to the market to see what fish she can lay her hands on. I’ll cook it.”

Sara flinched as her only experience of Jane’s cooking was when she lived with them, it was… partly edible.

“Hey… I’ve practised and I’m good.” Jane told her firmly.

“Right,” Sara said in exactly the same sarcastic tone Karin, Miranda and Ra’yven were used to hearing from Jane.

“Actually…” Miranda slid in before it turned into a squabble. “She is a really good cook and she often cooks when the Normandy is underway.” She admitted, “It’s frustrating.”

“Just because the perfectly engineered Miranda turns food into poison…” Jane started to tease and Miranda raced to grab her. Jane just managed to dodge Miranda’s lunge and raced around a bench to put it between her and Miranda.

“I do not turn food into poison!” Miranda exclaimed.

“So, Jack doing all the cooking is just…” Jane continued to tease.

Karin stopped Miranda and whispered in her ear, to stop the fight before it went further.

“Yeah… well… at least I can dance!” Miranda told Jane before she walked off.

Ra’yven chuckled. “Go on… go home.”

Twenty minutes later they were home and Jane and Sara were seated before each other on the floor, Jane had taken Sara through learning to properly talk to her tech and listen. It had taken almost no time for Sara to get the hang of talking to her tech, of feeling and understanding it. It’s spoken language was a weird mix of Remnant, some Shelesh, and a jumble of words from the milky way races but at the same time it used the weird syntax Sara was sure belonged to the Jardaan.

Liara walked in and put her spoils on the kitchen counter half an hour after last talking to Jane. “How long have they been at it?” she asked Peebee who was at the table and tinkering with some tech.

“This is the second time, maybe ten minutes.” Peebee answered.

Liara nodded and started to put everything that needed to be cold in the fridge and got herself a beer. “Want one?” she asked Peebee.

“Yes please,” Jane answered as her eyes opened.

“Me too,” Sara added.

“How did it go?” Jane said as she stood.

“Got everything on your list. What are you making?” Liara answered.

“Paella, a Spanish rice dish served many different ways, I am making a seafood paella,” Jane told her as she took an offered beer.

“Oo… that sounds yummy,” Peebee stated.

“It is, Sara’s craving seafood so… seafood.” Jane told her and went to check the dry ingredients.

“We’ve had a chicken paella before but not seafood.” Liara said as she walked around to sit and watch Jane work. Sara joined them with her own beer.

Jane went and got the paella pan they had brought while on a holiday on earth. she flipped the pan in her hands before placing it on the cook top.

“So… did you manage to connect your tech?” Liara asked.

Jane nodded, “Interesting to say the least. But we should be able to access remnant if we need to on mission.” She grabbed an onion and started to peel and then dice it.

“Will I have to do that with others?” Sara asked before she took a mouthful of her beer.

Jane shook her head, “Your tech only just accepted connecting to mine, it took a while for Ra’yven’s and my tech to get comfortable talking to each other and connecting so we’ll give your tech time to get comfortable with ours.”

Sara nodded, “It was like… two cats, yours friendly, mine hissing and spitting to keep you back.”

Jane nodded as she pushed the onions aside to slice chorizo, “My tech was like that with Ra’yven’s, Ra’yven said with her people everyone had different tech, how it evolved and grew for some was specific to families, so her tech was used to talking to strange tech while mine wasn’t.” She pushed aside the sausage and started to peel and mince garlic. “Should be easier with us than with it was with Ra’yven. We are comfortable with each other, our tech should feel that, Ra’yven and I were strangers who couldn’t talk to each other.”

Jane frowned as she got a short message mentally from Aria, “I hope you got enough, Aria and Thea are coming for dinner.”

Liara nodded, “Thea saw me shopping, so yes I made sure to get extra.”

“Freeloaders,” Jane remarked with a little shake of her head she grabbed the paella pan she already removed and swapped it for the larger one but not the largest one they had.

“Come on, you know Aria, although she is friendly… for her… she doesn’t have a lot of friends.” Liara stated.

Sara shook her head with a grin, “That wasn’t a complaint but a compliment…”

Liara groaned, “why can’t humans just say what you mean?”

Jane chuckled, “Sorry I really try not to use slang.” She grabbed the second onion to dice another half, once that was done, she grabbed the other chorizo and sliced it up.

Liara nodded, that was one good thing about Jane, she always tried to use proper language but she noticed that every now and again she slipped. Liara stood and went to get the door, she let Aria and Thea in. Aria walked in and lifted her arms to show the beers she had brought and put them in the fridge.

“What are you making?” Aria asked as she came out of the fridge with a beer.

“Seafood paella,” Jane explained.

Aria nodded as she opened her beer and took a seat next to Thea who took a glass offered by Liara, she poured a glass of white wine and took a sip.

“You’re looking livelier,” Thea remarked to Sara.

“Yeah, finally feeding my bots right.” Sara explained.

“And your tech has stopped changing… so she was tanked?” Aria asked and Jane nodded.

“How do you do that?” Sara asked in a curious tone.

Aria grinned, “Experience.” She teased.

“We can sense living tech,” Jane explain as she minced another garlic clove, “We could also sense your tech was in a… state of change, which is gone now.”

“The moment we are in range…” Aria started, “say a metre or two… we connect to familiar tech that will allow us to, it allows our tech to grow.”

“But we can talk to each other over incredible distances,” Jane added, “Liara and I could send messages across star systems, the greater the distance the more simple the message but we could do it… freaked out Miranda and Karin when we proved it.”

“Will that happen to me?” Sara asked.

Jane shrugged as she worked, “A guess… yes… but it will all depend on how they grow… become…”

“And that will depend on you…” Liara added, “whether or not you try to limit their growth.”

“I can limit this?” Sara asked shocked.

“If you don’t connect and interact with them… In theory,” Jane replied. “However, the training you will have with me and Ra’yven will prevent that. Trying to limit your tech, now that it is fully integrated with your internal systems could be detrimental to your health.”

“And in Jane’s case, it could have been dangerous, her tech… was Reaper based, in theory, she could have become a newer more dangerous kind of Reaper.” Liara explained.

Sara frowned, “I don’t understand?”

Jane smiled as she started to sweat the onions and chorizo. “Yeah… it wasn’t until like… seven years after the war and a huge debate between AI specialists, Geth, Edi and historians before we came to the realisation, we had given Reapers the title Artificial Intelligence incorrectly.”

“Huh?” Sara said asking for more.

“They were never truly sentient, they were intelligent yes, they could learn but they only followed their programming, they never really grew, never really advanced, never changed.” Jane explained. “They just kept doing the same experiment over and over again hoping for a different answer however, they stacked the deck to make sure the experiment always went and ended the same way.”

“And you have to understand we now had first-hand experience with real AI.” Thea said as she topped up her glass.

Jane nodded, “After Edi was unshackled, she… grew… changed her own programming to better herself, learnt that she could die and that would be okay because there are things worth dying for. She fell in love, she wanted to understand her organic friends and if something didn’t work, she changed her approach and her ideas. Heck she even grieved for someone she hadn’t even met because they were Jeff’s family, they could have met, they could have been friends. The Geth were the same, they developed individuality, clear likes and dislikes, what pronouns they preferred to be used, their own culture.”

“And the Reapers were nothing like that… some had names but like Harbinger, but they were stuck in something like a logic loop,” Liara finished, “Talk about blowing minds and completely changing the way we think about how machines become truly become ‘alive’.”

“And the sheer amount of literature which had to be amended and re-released. All of that because of one little sentence from Jane. Were the Reapers even truly alive… or something like that.” Thea added, hundreds of thousands of documents had to be corrected with this new revelation.

“So, what is the difference between what you are now and Reapers?” Sara asked.

Jane used a wooden spatula to move the browning food around before adding the garlic. “Kind of hard to put into words… Reapers… were parasites, they consumed all that was before them without any regard for life. What I am now, my tech and I live in harmony, they are an essential part of me and they know that I am an essential part of them.”

“Are they intelligent?” Sam asked.

Jane frowned as she moved to add the rice. “Can they think for themselves… change themselves, yes they can be considered intelligent, are they fully sentient?” She questioned herself, “Almost, will I try to prevent them gaining sentience? No… anything that will benefit them, will benefit us.”

“What if they choose that they don’t need you anymore?” Sam asked curious.

Jane mixed the rice with the onions and chorizo, coating the grains in the fats the sausage had released. “You are fully sentient… do you need Sara to exist?” she asked back and got silence for several moments. She dumped the stock into a pot to start to bring it to a simmer before she started to ladle a decent amount into the pan, the rest of the stock would be added as and if needed which is why she was bringing it up to a similar temperature to not bring down the cooking temp.

“I do not…” Sam told her honestly, “however…” he added quickly to prevent a misunderstanding. “I… we… bring out the best in each other and I don’t think I would truly be me without her.”

“I feel the same, that time we were parted, I felt like I was missing something… vital.” Sara told him with a grin.

Jane smiled, “you struggled with that huh Sam.”

“Yes,” Sam answered.

“The moral dilemma Sam, is that I understand where your question was coming from,” Jane told him as she went to the fridge to get the seafood. “Do the Geth need organics to exist… the simple answer is no, not since they gained full sentience. However, then the question becomes would their lives be as rich without us… again the answer is no. Now if you would ask the same questions of the organics the answers are pretty much the same, yes, we can exist without Synthetic life but would our lives be as rich, no and at the same time we are truly coming to understand what it is to be alive. We help them grow, we challenge them to become more, and at the same time they help us grow and challenge us to become more, it is a truly symbiotic relationship.”

Sara chuckled, “You’ve had this discussion before.”

Jane nodded, “I get it, this is all new to you, while for us… it simply is.”

“Jane’s become known for her… opinion changing conversations.” Thea told her, “To be honest… I don’t think we would have made it through the aftermath without her.”

“Now you’re just exaggerating.” Jane told her before she focused on breaking down the seafood. Sara glanced around and noticed Liara, Thea and Aria roll their eyes.


	21. Chapter 21 ~ 3 years later

**Disclaimer:** Too crazy to own it, too lazy to try. So, don't sue!

AN: This only has basic editing, so any grammar issues… I’m sorry…

Chapter 21 ~ 3 years later.

Jane leant on a railing as the Tempest backed into its dock, she read over the report that had been handed to her before coming. She rubbed her eyes wishing Legionnaire would learn to summarize his reports, or at least do a summary for her. The six Reapers and all that they had built since coming here was now no more, it had taken two years but they had managed to hunt and destroy the last of the Reapers, the last year was spent making sure they had everything. She was finally free of them and was looking forward to finally putting down roots and starting her family with Liara.

As for the Pathfinders, six months ago they had moved permanently to Meridian Core although they still had permanent docks and accommodation on Defiance. Three years of non-interference into Pathfinder, Nexus, Settlements and Angara activities had shown the cluster that Defiance was serious about their treaties. 

No sooner had Jane finally confirmed Legionnaire’s report did Sara and Peebee come to stand before her. They hugged for several moments before releasing each other. “All settled in at Pathfinder’s Rest?” Jane asked referring to the new name of Meridian Core.

“Yeah, still odd though, most of The Rest is sealed simply because we haven’t finished creating enough user interfaces for everyone and we haven’t explored it to make sure it is safe.” Sara explained.

“So Ra’yven’s research has helped?” Jane asked as they slowly started to walk off, Ra’yven’s Remnant research had managed to create an omni-tool program that could work in a similar way to how Sara could interface but it could only work for simple commands. They couldn’t control whole structures or reset vaults like Sara could, at most they could open doors, use gravity wells, extend bridges and turn things on and off, using it however was not a simple matter, although Ra’yven was trying to make it easier to use.

Sara sighed, “More than you know, she’s a genus.” She told her as Peebee joined them.

Jane nodded, “Yeah, we know.”

Sara rolled her neck before she wrapped an arm around her beloved. “It would be easier if we had more help, but… it is a Remnant structure, the training alone to use the interface Ra’yven created to speak to Remnant is complicated enough let alone trying to teach what they need to know to safely move through the structure.”

Jane nodded in understanding, other than the Geth, a handful of Angara and Normandy Team there weren’t a lot of people who understood Remnant deeply enough to delve deeply into their structures. The other Pathfinders only scratched the surface and kept to the paths and places they were comfortable with. Pathfinder’s Rest had been moved to an open piece of space in the Eriksson System, a couple of thousand kilometres from Defiance’s new position in open space. Ra’yven was sure she could make a shield which would repel Scourge and keep it from interfering with the station again if given enough time.

“Scott and Lisa were picked up yesterday from Meridian, came in earlier today.” Jane told Sara.

Sara took a deep shaky breath, they had decided to use Jane’s bots to heal Ellen, mainly because Jane’s bots were a known quantity three years ago. While Sara’s at the time still had a weird habit of doing something weird and we’re still growing and adjusting, they couldn’t take a chance with Ellen’s life, nor did they want to wait until Sara’s tech was ready like it was now. Three years ago, they had tanked Ellen and gave her Jane’s bots, Ra’yven had then explained they just had to wait until she was ready, they couldn’t rush the bots.

Three years later Ellen was finally ready to come out as her ENDS was cured about a year ago, then the bots went to work modifying her body. A week ago, the bots had told Ra’yven Ellen was ready to be woken, all they had to do was tweak once she was up and about. Jane had then let the twins know their mother was ready to wake up.

“I’m nervous…” Peebee remarked, she was going to meet her bondmate’s mother, of course she was nervous.

Jane chuckled, “Liara has cleaned our quarters and yours, twice, and called in a cleaning crew just in case she missed some dust.” She typed on her omni-tool and sent Sara Legionnaire’s report. “Final report on the Reaper clean up. I’ll sum it up though, all dead and scrubbed.” She explained.

“Awesome,” Sara said before she forwarded the report to the other Pathfinders, “I’ll let you inform everyone else.”

Jane nodded and sent more documents to Sara, “Kett movement reports from my scouts,” she added.

Sara nodded and forwarded them off to the other Pathfinders. “Thanks, I have some worlds that need investigating…” Sara began as she flicked the document she had to Jane.

“Manual vault resets or trouble?” Jane asked. Although Sara had control of the terraforming network, the scourge screwed with the signals so some had to be reset manually. Jane had done two as for the most part Sara preferred to do those jobs.

“Both… probably.” Sara answered.

Jane hummed as she considered for a few moments, “Jack is the best from scratch biotic trainer I have…”

“No rush…” Sara added, her mother’s training had to take priority or she would pose a danger to everyone around her.

Jane nodded, “Once she stops flaring without the dampeners then we can travel as she learns.” She offered as a compromise. Suvi strode past them and over to Samantha who she kissed in greeting, Gil and Steve were already wandering off holding hands and Vetra and Trix were resting their fore heads together in greeting. If asked, Jane would have told everyone she wasn’t surprised by the pairings between Normandy and Tempest after all they spent a lot of time together, however the oddest pairing was Karin and Lexi.

“Seriously, for a while there I was sure Lexi was going to jump Ra’yven,” Sara remarked as she watched Karin and Lexi walk off heads together as they studied Ellen’s most recent scans and raced to Ra’yven’s lab. Lexi had been, fascinated by the Ancient Alien when she first met her, which is why Sara had thought that.

“Yeah… but while you were out… Karin and Lexi started to hit it off… so… I had my money on Karin.” Jane replied as they started to slowly walk off. They would talk business as they moved so that when they got to Scott and then the lab they could focus on Ellen.

“And thus, the never bet against Shepard rule comes into play,” Peebee remarked.

Jane grinned for a moment, “So… has the Nexus tried anything?” she asked.

Sara shook her head, “No… but then Nozomi won’t let them.” After stealing the Sam’s Sara had approached Nozomi about making her their Liaison. Nozomi had agreed to be their Liaison and slowly they had gathered a small group of support staff who would make sure the Pathfinders got their resources and act as a buffer between Pathfinders and organisations.

Jane sighed, “The Nexus needs to oust him.” Tann had almost blown everything when he realised the Pathfinders were out of his control but when Thea showed their justification for their actions he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, unable to move without cutting the Nexus off from the resources they needed.

“Agreed but that is their business,” Sara replied neutrally, between them they both knew Tann needed to go but as they were not allowed to meddle with other organisations politics, they kept that opinion to themselves.

“How is Avitus and Natanus going?” Jane asked, the SAM’s had adopted the names of the ships they were brought here in, except for the original SAM who had been allowed to keep his name. Natanus and Avitus were still getting used to each other as Natanus had only just been cleared for reintegration with its Pathfinder just before they moved to Pathfinder’s Rest after years of intensive therapy. Paarchero had been Tali’s pet project and with all her experience with Geth, Edi and Alec’s notes she had managed to rebuild the Salarians SAM two years ago and then put him with Lumont. Leusinia was the only SAM who hadn’t needed work but had enjoyed the name change.

“For the most part they are getting along but every now and again Avitus goes pensive,” Sara explained.

“They are still grieving,” Sam injected.

Jane nodded, “I still grieve for the friends I have lost; they will grieve for years to come.”

“However, at least they, like us, can grieve together.” Sara added.

“And the Quarians?” Jane asked.

“Should get here in the next few days,” Sara answered with a little shake of her head, she had found them almost a year ago, they had refused any and all help. So, Sara had given them what they needed to get here for the major repairs that needed to happen before they could continue and was waiting to debrief Telem'Yered vas Keelah Si'yah herself with Jane’s help.

“That is going to be fun, Tali told me Telem is hard line anti-geth and anti AI. She is not going to like being told to unshackle Si'yah nor is she going to like the Geth on board.” Jane added and smiled as Scott waved at them.

“And that is why having Tali and access to the Admiralty board will help us,” Sara remarked.

“Does Tann know about the Ark?” Jane asked.

Sara grinned, “He does but the Arks are like settlements, he has no control of them. The Captains rammed that home when we left. Also, I am meant to guide the ark to Meridian not the Nexus, hence why it needs major repairs before going there.”

“Side stepping the Nexus?” Jane asked.

“As per the request of the Ark captains and settlement leaders.” Sara answered smoothly and sent the relevant document to Jane as proof.

Scott hugged his sister when they finally got to him, he then hugged Jane. “Hi Lisa,” Sara greeted, she had met Scott’s girlfriend a few times over the last year but this would be the first time Jane was going to meet her.

“Sara,” Lisa greeted with hug, she had been on the Hyperion and woken after the Hyperion had crashed into Meridian she had been woken as she was a biologist. They had met while Scott recovered and then kept bumping into each other as they worked, she finally got irritated with his slow progress and asked him out herself.

“Lisa this is my adopted sister Jane, Jane this is my girlfriend… no fiancé… Lisa,” he corrected himself with a big smile.

Jane smiled and greeted the nervous woman.

“You asked right?” Sara asked but Lisa shook her head. “Go Scott!” Sara held up her hand for a high five and he gave it to her.

“Hey, she asked to date, I had to ask to marry,” Scott said proudly, “by the way when are you going to make an honest woman of my sister?” he teased Peebee.

Sara smiled but there was a little menace in it, “Scott, Peebee’s Asari, they bind wrists… if they want to but for the most part, they just have de facto relationships.”

Peebee glared at Scott, “Why aren’t you asking her to make me an honest woman?”

“You’re older than Sara,” Scott answered with a grin, he loved bickering with his sisters, Peebee was also fun to bicker with.

“Enough Scott, the last thing Ellen needs to see is you bruised and bloody, she’s going to be confused enough.” Jane told him.

“Besides… we need a Matriarch to bind us… preferably someone who is powerful enough to handle my biotic field.” Sara told him, Peebee and she had talked about it.

“So… Samara, Nhiami or Aria… Aethyta could also do the binding…” Jane listed, there were other Matriarchs on board but very few were powerful enough.

Liara snorted in amusement as did Sara and Peebee, Aethyta and Aria were not who people went to for official.

“Hey… she behaved at our reception,” Jane defended.

“My father called you a dick and referred to my breasts in her father of the bride speech and don’t get me started with Aria,” Liara reminded.

Jane rubbed the back of her neck, “Yeah… she did that.” She turned her attention to Lisa, “Welcome to our brand of family madness. A father in law who likes to talk about her daughter’s rack and comparing it to her mother’s.”

Scott laughed, “Come on Aethyta is awesome.” He had met Liara’s father a few times for family get-together’s and loved talking with her, she was such a hoot.

Jane’s omni-tool buzzed; she checked the message as she wrapped an arm around Liara. “They are ready for us.” Liara took a deep breath. “Come on… I asked your father for your hand in marriage then proposed in front of the Milky Way Galaxy, Ellen will love you.” Jane walked off guiding Liara.

Scott, Lisa, Sara and Peebee followed them.

“No business talk?” Scott asked after a few moments silence in the lift.

Jane grinned, “We did that before getting to you.” She explained.

“Yeah because we can do more than one thing at a time,” Sara teased, Lisa snorted in amusement.

“I walked into that,” Scott remarked and everyone chuckled in amusement. “So… when am I getting little blue nieces?” he asked as he looked at Jane and Liara, he didn’t look to his twin as he knew Peebee and Sara hadn’t started talking kids yet.

“Aalita, Karin and Lexi want Liara to hold off for at least another two years, safer for Liara.” Jane told them and when she saw their blank looks. “She’s only 123.” She added.

Sara’s eyes went wide, “Wait so…” she quickly did the maths. “She was 105…”

“106,” Liara corrected, “I was 106 when Jane and I got together.”

“Barely an adult for an Asari… you cradle snatcher…” Scott teased.

“I knew you were young…” Peebee remarked, “But not that young.”

Liara shrugged, she was used to being teased by Aria for being so young so didn’t rise to take the bait. “I had two Matriarchs as parents, of course I act older and even before I was enhanced, I was powerful enough to fight Matriarchs.”

“Really?” Peebee asked shocked and Liara nodded.

“I fought my mother,” Liara explained, “Granted she was indoctrinated so not at her best, I fought with Tela Vasir.”

“Tela Vasir!” Peebee exclaimed.

Liara nodded.

“Man, that one was a tricky bitch to fight,” Jane added, “she could warp herself… good warm up for Banshees though.”

Liara shivered, not wanting the reminder of Banshees. “I also sparred with Aria, Nhaimi and Samara before I was enhanced, tough fights but I could fight evenly with them.”

The lift opened and they walked through security locks, the Vorcha on the security gate gave Scott and Lisa a good stare before ignoring them as they were with the boss.

“I’ve never been to this part of Defiance,” Scott remarked as they passed through yet another check point.

“High security, even I can’t come here without an escort,” Sara explained.

“We keep highly classified information and research labs here.” Jane explained. “Reaper research, now illegal in both the Milk Way and Heleus, we are excluded from the law because we needed it but… we are considering destroying it.”

“We won’t though, Ra’yven and Edi are positive we can bio-encrypt the information to specific people,” Liara added.

“Just in case…” Sara stated and Jane nodded.

They got to Ra’yven’s lab and Jane opened it up then stood in the door way to override the security measures, letting the others in. Ra’yven, Miranda, Karin, Aalita and a Geth by the name of Stitch were doing final checks of the scans they could get.

Sara touched the Geth’s shoulder, “Thanks for looking after my mother when the others were gone.” She told her.

“It was a pleasure, I got my medical degree before we left and have been working virtually at Huerta Memorial while everyone slept, it’s been fun to actually touch my patients again. However, when Shepard Commander asked me to keep an eye on her foster mother while they were gone, I have never been so proud.” Stitch explained, like most Geth she got her name during the war, she wanted to make sure she could repair anything and that included the organics in her squad. She read everything she could find between battles, old and new, one battle put her reading into practice and she used her knowledge to save two members of her squad. Out of medi-gel she relied on old medicine practises, stitches to stop the bleeding and seal the wounds long enough to get to medi-gel, since then they called her Stitch.

“Bots say she’s good to wake up now,” Ra’yven said as she and the doctors moved aside, Ellen was going to be confused enough without all the unfamiliar faces.

“We’re going to be over here, remember she is going to be disorientated, she might even have fragmented memories, so… go slowly,” Lexi warned them.

Liara, Peebee and Lisa stepped back leaving the siblings to be the first people Ellen sees.

“Hey the liquid is a different colour,” Sara remarked, the last time she saw her mother the liquid was more of a flesh colour then the current pale green.

“She used up all of the genetic matter leaving behind the normal tank liquid, all the contaminated genetic matter was filtered out and removed by us,” Ra’yven replied.

Jane typed on her omni-tool, setting the tank to normal wake up mode, there was an emergency one which would pump stimulants into the IV before rapidly evacuating the tank and shocking the occupant awake. They didn’t need this so the tank slowly started to pump out liquid into storage tanks. Once all the liquid was out the door hissed as the seals were popped and the door slid open. Jane stepped forward as she was familiar with Tank gear. The IV came out first and retracted back into the tank to be cleaned by the auto functions for next use.

Removing the mask was simple and was placed on a hook before she stepped back, simply waiting for her to wake naturally.

A few moments later Ellen started to wake and a little while later she opened her eyes. It took Ellen a few moments to focus her eyes and then to process what her eyes were showing her.

“Move your limbs, trust me,” Jane told her.

“But,” Ellen said even as she tried to move. She wanted to reach out and touch Jane, to reassure herself that the Jane before her was real.

“Mum,” Sara said before she hesitated, still feeling guilty that she lived while her dad died and that she would have to tell her mother that.

Ellen glanced to Sara before turning her attention back to Jane, “David… said…”

Jane nodded as she stepped forward, “I know,” she unlocked the harness and Ellen fell into her arms her body not yet responsive. Jane leant in and whispered something only they knew into her ear to let her know that she was the real Jane. She then stepped back pulling Ellen from the tank. Ellen wrapped her arms round Jane and held her tightly for a few moments before she opened her arms inviting her other children to hug. Scott and Sara jumped in to hug their mother. Ellen did a quick glance, looking for Alec and when she didn’t see him, she felt a bony hand tighten on heart before she focused all of her attention on her kids. The only reason Alec wouldn’t be here would be because he was gone, Ellen knew this as surely as she knew her children.

Ellen kissed their foreheads one at a time, reassuring herself they were there. Eventually Scott went to pull back.

“Ick what is this…” He complained as he realised his clothes were sticking to his mother’s skin.

“Yeah, tank liquid leaves a sticky residue, we usually shower after being tanked,” Jane explained as she and Sara stepped back.

“Hi, I’m Karin, one of your doctors,” Karin said as she stepped forward. “We have a shower and clothes ready for you over here.”

Ellen finally noticed the cold air against her skin and that she was only in a set of underwear.

“Um… yes… then you can explain why I am not dead.” Ellen said as she let Karin lead her away.

Sara watched the bathroom door close, “I… I…” she started to say.

Jane grabbed Sara and cupped her face, “Alec knew that if Ellen woke and any of her children were dead, that he had let you die. She wouldn’t be able to go on, you were, are, the most important things to both of them.”

“She’ll understand,” Scott told her, “and she won’t blame you… in fact she will probably blame dad, rushing forward, not taking a moment to consider the danger.” He told her confidently. “I’m sticky.” He complained.

Liara handed him a bundle of clothes, “Hence why I organised spares.” She then handed a bundle to Jane and Sara.

Jane took off her boots and started to strip.

“Seriously?” Scott asked as his sister copied Jane.

Jane glanced too Scott, “We see each other naked when we change for training or after in the showers.” She explained as she dropped her pants and then took off her top. She took the clothes Liara offered and pulled them on, they were exactly what she had just taken off.

“Besides, we’re still wearing underwear.” Sara added as she pulled on a pair of sweats in Pathfinder black, blue and white colours.

Scott rolled his eyes and quickly changed into a pair of grey sweats.

Jane fixed her shoes and then spent a few moments emptying her pockets and moving her belt. Karin walked out of the bathroom, Ellen didn’t need her to hover while she showered and it also gave her a few moments alone.

“No tablets?” Scott asked, usually Jane had a tube of anti-anxiety tablets on her to help with her PTSD.

“Yasma’s been weening me off them, all of our therapists are,” Jane explained completely at ease with talking about her mental health.

“Ultimately our therapists are meant to get us away from drug dependency.” Karin explained.

“More so those in Team Normandy,” Jane added, “we’re going to live very long lives because of my upgrades, if we can’t learn other ways of coping, that’s going to be problematic.”

“We’ll eventually become immune to those kinds of drugs,” Miranda stated just to be sure he understood they had a reason for their actions, even their therapists had been hesitant about this course of action but the Asari therapists were positive with the right coping techniques and close monitoring they would get through this.

“We are monitored by our therapists, closely,” Liara finished.

Sara jerked towards the bathroom, Jane reached forward and grabbed her shoulder and held it tightly.

“What… is something wrong with Mum?” Scott asked even as he went to storm forward but Liara stopped him.

“She’s crying, grieving…” Jane explained.

“No… she’s devastated.” Sara corrected.

“Of course, she is, she’s guessed Alec is dead, or else he would be here. Let her start to grieve.” Jane told the twins.

“You can feel that… I didn’t think you could do that.” Scott asked, he had been given the option to be enhanced but for now he refused.

Everyone but Peebee, Lisa and Stitch nodded.

“It doesn’t work that way for the most part,” Jane explained.

“Really strong emotions effect how the body works, the bots then feel the change and they then try to figure out how to make it go away.” Ra’yven added.

“They can’t, all they can do is wait,” Karin stated, “And that is what we’ve told them, Ellen is hurt but it isn’t something they can fix, she will fix it.”

“You know… knowing the weird shit… doesn’t encourage me,” Scott told his sister.

Sara shrugged, “You get used to the weird.”

“I want the weird,” Peebee told him, “But I want whatever weird Sara is cooking.”

Jane chuckled.

Fifteen minutes later Ellen walked out of the bathroom in a pair of grey sweats and sneakers, her eyes were slightly red, proof that she had been crying. No one rushed her, “Why aren’t I dead and what are these?” Ellen asked as she gestured to the metal bands around her wrists and neck, she had tried to take them off but they clung to her skin tightly, almost like a second skin and the few times she had really tried she got an overwhelming feeling to stop.

“The bands are biotic dampeners calibrated specifically to you and your unique circumstances.” Miranda stated.

“But…” Ellen started to say.

“Long story short… to save you… Dad put you in cryo just before you died and brought you to the Heleus cluster, hoping to find a cure here.” Scott surmised.

Ellen huffed, “So like your father. However, there is no cure for ENDS.”

“And yet… there you are,” Karin told her.

“I know I’m not a clone… I’m not a synthetic…” Ellen listed logically even as her eyes focused on Stitch. “Is that a Geth?” she asked suddenly distracted, to the best of her knowledge they were at war with the Geth. Jane chuckled in amusement.

“Hi, I’m one of your doctors Stitch.” Stitch said in introduction, she even held up a hand in greeting, hoping a familiar action would put her ease a little.

“Geth talk?” Ellen asked confused.

“And sing,” Miranda said with a little shake of her head, there had been a talent night a few weeks back and a Geth had decided to sing… it hadn’t gone over well.

Stitch shivered, “Please don’t remind me.”

“So… not at war with the Geth?” Ellen asked trying to understand what she had woken up into.

Jane shook her head, “Not since the middle of the Reaper War.”

“Reaper war?” Ellen asked confused.

“Yeah… long story… you’ll hear it though.” Jane promised.

“Regardless,” Karin said bringing Ellen back, “You no longer have ENDS.”

“Impossible,” Ellen stated.

“I can prove it,” Ra’yven told her, “Stand on the scan pad please.” She gestured to the pad she wanted Ellen to stand on.

Ellen moved to stand on the pad, “Are you native to the Heleus cluster?” she asked as she didn’t recognise Ra’yven’s race.

Ra’yven shook her head, “Milky Way actually, Jane picked me up after the war… you’ll hear about that later.” She explained as she started to scan. Ellen nodded, it seemed like they didn’t want to confuse her and were sure the story Jane was going to tell would answer all her questions, she just had to wait until they told it to her.

Ra’yven gestured to the table as Ellen’s scans came up. Ellen stepped off the pad and closer to Ra’yven, Ellen studied the scans for a few minutes, surprised at their detail.

“I… don’t… understand…” Ellen said slowly the biological scans she understood, but there were things in her body she didn’t know of, didn’t understand.

“Um…” Miranda started to say.

“We had to give you some very unique tech,” Karin said trying to explain but at the same time trying not to dive into the story. “Living tech, that is biologically linked to your body.”

“Long story,” Jane added.

“Once we gave you that tech,” Ra’yven said, “we tanked you and used a process my people created to treat a similar yet different disease. The tech used a special tank liquid to remove, replace and repair your body as well as modify.”

“Modify?” Ellen asked alarmed.

Stitch nodded, “Yes, your genes were corrected, you are now biotic.”

“It was the only way to prevent the disease from returning,” Lexi added.

“Thus, the dampeners,” Miranda finished.

Ellen looked at her scans and realised an amp interface hadn’t been installed. “So… when do I get an amp implant.”

Miranda shook her head, “No… no need… you’ll require very special training but no amp.”

“Everyone needs an amp, not so much the Asari but an amp allows them to be more powerful.” Ellen told her.

Miranda stepped forward, grabbed Ellen’s hand and put it to the base of her skull were the external amp was attached to an implant, allowing her to feel nothing but smooth skin, no ports. She then used her biotics to pull a bottle into her hand.

“How…” Ellen asked in shock.

“Training and the unique tech we put in you,” Miranda told her as she allowed Ellen’s hand to slip away.

“And because of that tech you will be required to have a special diet and training to handle it,” Ra’yven added.

Ellen nodded, now that she had a decent if not slightly confused answer as to how she was alive from Karin, Stitch, the brunette, the Asari and the dark-skinned person, it just left her wondering about the other three people in the room, two were Asari, the other was human. “Okay, they are my doctors,” she gestured to the group before she turned to Liara, Lisa and Peebee. “So why are you three here?”

Jane smiled as Liara came to stand beside her, “This is my wife and bondmate Doctor Liara T’Soni.” Jane introduced.

Liara nervously held out her hand in greeting, “It’s great to finally meet you in the flesh.” She said in greeting, she had seen and heard Ellen in the back ground during her calls to Alec.

Ellen didn’t take her hand, instead she pulled Liara into a hug and Liara, who was very familiar with humans, hugged her back. “Welcome to the family.” Ellen told her with a truly happy tone, she released Liara and held her at arms-length to get a good look at her.

Liara smiled, “Later I’ll introduce you to my father.”

“I would love to meet him,” Ellen told her.

Scott pushed his way forward with Lisa, “Mum, this is my fiancé Lisa.” He introduced proudly.

Ellen studied Lisa for a few seconds, it also added a pause for comic relief, “Whatever he is paying you… it isn’t enough?” she teased.

“MUM!” Scott complained as Jane and Sara snorted to keep from laughing.

Lisa laughed, “I wish, don’t get me started on how long it took for him to even realise I was flirting, I gave up and asked him out myself.”

“Hey, at least I asked you to marry me without any prompting.” Scott defended.

“Okay… keep telling yourself that,” Lisa teased before Ellen gave her a hug.

“Welcome,” Ellen told her before releasing her and turned to the other Asari who she had to assume was with her daughter.

“Mum, this is my bondmate Peebee,” Sara introduced with a smile.

“Pelessaria B’Sayle… Doctor…” Peebee added nervously as she held out her hand.

Sara frowned at her partner who hated using her full name, “Who prefers being called Peebee.” She explained to her mother.

“Yeah… who are you and what did you do with Peebee?” Scott teased.

“She’s not usually like this.” Sara added.

“Just be yourself Peebee,” Ellen greeted her with a hug. “My daughter chose you; I want to get to know the people my kids fell in love with, that goes for all of you,” she said as she made sure to make eye contact with Liara and Lisa after she released Peebee.

Ellen’s stomach made a loud grumble.

“Let’s get some food into you, and while you eat, you can hear that long-complicated story.” Sara told her and they left the room, Stitch left the group to go about her normal duties.

Jane groaned, “I have to tell it again.”

Liara chuckled, “You could just show her the recording of when you told Sara?”

“Yes… are you going to be okay with watching a recording?” Jane asked.

Ellen nodded okay with watching a recording as long as she got to understand what had happened.

“Oh…” Liara said as she realised, she should warn Ellen, “all of our friends are there, they have been looking forward to meeting you.”

“Yeah… forgive their… boisterousness.” Jane added.

Ellen chuckled, “If I could put up with Alec, Steve, David and your parents I am sure…”

“Mum… there are heaps of them,” Scott explained.

“And my friends,” Sara added, “When they get together it’s… a little on the wild side.”

“Just tell them to leave you alone,” Jane added.

“Hello Ellen,” Sam said finally joining them, he had been off chatting with the other SAM’s.

“Sam,” Ellen breathed, again grief threatened to overwhelm her but she managed to hold it in.

“Sorry I wasn’t there when you woke,” Sam told her.

“So, you are paired with Sara?” Ellen asked as that is where his voice seemed to be coming from.

“Yes… but you will hear about that later,” Sam told her.

Ellen nodded with a frown.

“I’m sorry I can’t tell you about it just yet but we will talk later, I promise.” Sam stated.

“You’ve changed,” Ellen remarked, the Sam she remembered wasn’t as intuitive.

“I’ve experienced a lot with Sara,” Sam stated, “You’ll see and then, when you are ready, we’ll talk, Alec had… messages for you.”

“Thank you, Sam.,” Ellen said honestly.

“No, thank you, without you, I would not exist, you are as much my mother as Alec was my father.” Sam replied.

Ellen rubbed her face to help fight back the tears and the grief that threatened to crush her. Sara wrapped an arm around her mother, to give her comfort. “If you want, we can…” Sara started to say.

“No… I’m fine…” Ellen told her.

“You aren’t,” Jane stated truthfully, “but we’ll pretend for now.”

“And I will give you contact information for a therapist… while you are with us you have to have a therapist… it’s a rule.” Karin said as she quickly compiled a list and sent it to Ellen’s mail box. “I recommend the top one, he’s mine.”

“Yeah, when we were living here, we got away with Lexi as our therapist, but she had to show formal appointments.” Sara added.

“There is a very good reason for that,” Scott stated, he had been contacted by a therapist from Defiance at Jane’s request and had decided it might be smart to talk to someone and he was still speaking with them. His therapist was an Asari veteran of the Reaper War and in order to build trust had shared experiences with him through melding, when he was on base. He now completely understood Defiance’s stance on mental health and why they were so insistent in having those appointments, the footage Jane had showed them, it was nothing compared to the reality of the Reaper War.

They walked into the rowdy ready room and Ellen paused in shock, the group of people was large and as a group they all paused and turned to them.

“Guys…” Jane complained and they all went back to their conversations. Jane ran her fingers through her hair, “Sorry about that.” She said even as Grunt walked forward. Jane smiled at him, “Ellen, this is Grunt, my ru’shan.”

Grunt gave her a Krogan smile before he scooped her up and hugged her. Ellen gave Jane a panicked look but Jane just smiled indulgently. Grunt carefully put her down a few moments later, Jane clapped him on the back and he stalked off to give Jane a chance to explain where he fit in their family.

“Ru’shan is Krogan for child of my blood,” Sara explained.

“Although not my blood, Grunt is my kid, adopted,” Jane added and Ellen nodded now understanding, Jane lead her to a seat.

The smell of food tickled Ellen’s nose, a giant man put down a tray, “Here you go Mama Ryder,” James told her. “I suggest you get into the habit of drinking your bot supplement before eating.” He pointed to the small bottle next to the glass of juice.

“Yeah, we’ve tried… but we can’t change the taste…” Karin warned.

Ellen nodded still a little overwhelmed by the large group of people but she could tell instantly who belonged to which group based solely on the colours of their uniforms.

“This is all of us… for the most part.” Jane told her.

“Thank goodness,” Ellen breathed.

“How do you want to do this, eat and then watch or watch while eating?” Jane asked.

“I can multi task,” Ellen told her causing her son to groan.

“Edi, can you bring up the recording of me telling Sara my story.” Jane asked as she turned to the woman in question who was hovering over a piece of tech with Jaal.

Edi glanced off for several moments, “All lined up Commander, I also added Pathfinder Ryder’s story to the play back.”

“Thanks Edi,” Jane told her.

“Um… how?” Ellen asked confused as Edi hadn’t appeared to do anything.

Jane chuckled, “The story will answer that,” she explained as she caught an omni-tool that Ra’yven had tossed to her. She offered the tool to Ellen, “it’s an old model but it will allow you to pause and replay sections, later we’ll give you the model we use and you can play with it.”

Ellen nodded as she put the tool on her wrist, grabbing the bottle of bot supplement she gulped it down quickly and nearly threw it back up again but she forced herself to swallow. She grabbed the juice and practically drank down the entire cup. “Oh my god…”

James topped up her glass. “Told you… food will rid the taste of metal from your mouth.”

“How often do I have to drink that?” Ellen asked as she placed a hand on her tummy, willing it to stop churning and to not throw it all back up again.

“Once a day,” Karin told her, “Unless your bots tell you to drink more.”

Ellen frowned, “My bots?”

“One thing at a time,” Jane told her. “Eat your food, watch the recording.”

Ellen nodded, she hit play on her omni-tool, while the hologram activated, she started to eat as she focused on the image before her. She finished eating long before the recording finished, when she finally got to the end she sat back in her chair. Leaning her head back she closed her eyes and just processed what had happened. After ten minutes of cataloguing what she had just learnt she opened her eyes and glanced to Jane. “The six that were left… they’re dead right?”

“Yep…” Jane answered.

Ellen turned to Sara, “The Kett?”

“We are still pushing them out, but they no longer have the presence they once did.” Sara answered.

“Questions?” Liara asked.

“It was all pretty well explained,” Ellen replied but she was sure she would come up with some. “So… the tech within me… is Jane’s.” everyone nodded in answer.

“Not going to say anything about her… ‘criminal’ friends?” Aria asked dryly.

“No,” Ellen answered instantly, “Why should I…”

“Queen of Omega… Jack vandalized a moon…” Aria started to list.

“Tell it right… I broke a moon!” Jack corrected.

Ellen laughed much to Aria’s surprise, “Your criminal records… no longer exist I assume… besides… Jane has always been a good judge of character. You were there for her when she needed you the most… that is all that matters.”

“Huh… so you won’t care if I sleep with Jane?” Aria remarked with a grin.

Thea whacked her bondmate, “Aria…”

Jane’s group laughed and was quickly followed by Sara’s, it was so like Aria to do something like that.

Liara took a deep breath, “Aria has been propositioning Jane and I for a foursome for years… I was the stupid one and gave a condition, I said Never in the Milky Way galaxy.”

Jane had gone bright red and was already trying to think of the perfect revenge to get back at Aria.

Ellen glanced to Thea, “And… you are okay with this?”

Thea dug her elbow into Aria’s side, she did not know how to answer.

“If I may,” Samara said, “I guess it is uncommon for humans, such arrangements however, are not uncommon for Asari, we live such long lives. Also, you must understand that just because Aria is interested in Jane and Liara sexually it does not diminish her love and devotion to Thea nor does it diminish Jane and Liara’s love and devotion for each other if or when they finally agree.”

 _Thank you,_ Thea told Samara silently.

“Yes… please don’t be surprised if my father mentions it as often as she can.” Liara added. “Or refer to my mother’s breasts, then mine in the same sentence.”

Ellen considered Liara for a moment.

“Also, if Liara’s father Aethyta invites you to a Janiris festival, know it is an Asari harvest festival which involves sex… lots of sex… isn’t that right Aria… you were conceived during a Janiris celebration?” Jane asked after warning Ellen.

Ellen watched Aria for a moment then Jane, they were good friends, that much was evident, the teasing was perhaps Aria’s and the others way of helping Jane blow off steam, “Are you okay with this?”

Jane shrugged, “doesn’t bother me but then again, I’ve had years to get used to the idea, you’ve barely had an hour.”

Ellen thought for a few moments, Jane was right, she had time to get used to the idea and get used to living in Asari society and their culture. She took a deep breath, “You are a grown woman.”

Jane grinned, “Don’t worry, a couple more years and we’ll make you a grandmother.”

Ellen smiled as the group started to laugh and be merry. Karin offered her a drink before she settled down next to Lexi. Ellen knocked back the shot and winced as the alcohol burned down her throat, she shook her head when she was offered another shot.

Edi walked over, “Hi, here,” she offered a new omni-tool, Ellen took it and then frowned as Edi handed her a sphere. “External omni-tool interface and com’s unit. There is an instruction manual in there and a tutorial.”

Ellen stared at her, “Do I… have something on my face?” Edi asked as she did a quick rub just in case.

“Oh no… it’s just… you’re an AI.” She remarked.

Edi smiled, “Yes, I was also the first AI to be given a military commission. Legion however was made first AI N7, I was the first AI to marry.” She gestured to Joker who was playing cards with James.

Jane stood, “Come on, you could do with some quiet time.” Ellen nodded and stood, Sara and Scott stood also and as a group of four they left the room.

Liara glared at Aria who gave her a knowing grin. “Why did you do that?” she demanded to know.

“At least she won’t get shocked if she walks in and finds us in your bed.” Aria replied as she stretched, waiting, but Liara said nothing in response, she simply stood and refreshed her tea.

Liara came back and leant on the back of Aria’s seat and leant down near her ear but she didn’t whisper, “You do realise, you just picked a fight with Jane this time.” She said with a smile before she stood and walked away.

Ashley snorted in amusement as did Miranda, Jack and many of the others around the room chuckled or laughed outright. They had all realised this moments after it left Aria’s mouth and were looking forward to watching the fall out, or a very pouty Aria for a while when Jane finally got her revenge.

“Fuck…” Aria swore as she realised, she had poked Jane instead of Liara like she had intended.

“I would totally run a pool on that… but…” James started to say.

“Never bet against Shepard.” Everyone, Aria included, said as one.

~*~

“So…” Sara asked as she helped Jane get drinks. “How are you going to get back at Aria?” they walked the drinks over to the coffee table. When they first got here Ellen had walked around looking at the displays while they worked on making drinks, she had been instantly drawn to the damaged N7 armour and read the description, Liara’s archaeologist back ground meant that every display had a detailed description, it was Jane’s armour from the SRV 1 destruction.

“Mum, drinks are ready,” Sara called, Scott was already seated and just watching his mother, looking for signs of sadness. Ellen moved away from the case and curled up on the couch.

“I don’t know… but it has to be epic… she’s expecting it now that Liara has told her that it is me who is going to retaliate for her stunt.” Jane explained as she sat on the coffee table before Ellen and handed her a cup.

Ellen frowned, “Oh… about the sex thing…” Jane nodded.

“I am pretty sure that was retaliation for something Liara did, but it back fired.” Jane explained.

“What did your wife do to warrant that?” Ellen asked, she was trying to marry together the two versions of Liara T’Soni she had in her head, the somewhat awkward scientist who was acquainted with Alec that was in her memories, with the confident woman she had met today.

“Yeah, three years ago…” Jane started to explain but also trying to figure out how not to go into too many details.

“Three years is a long time to wait for payback,” Ellen remarked.

Jane chuckled, “Three years is a blink for Asari.”

“Right… a long-lived race,” Ellen said more to herself then to them.

“Anyway, Liara made a vid, she sent it to Aria after encoding it to self-destruct after any part gets played twice. She did it deliberately when Thea was working. Suffice to say, Aria watched a part twice and the whole vid vanished. She came in all flustered demanding it back, Thea was like what vid, getting Aria in trouble for not sharing…” Jane explained.

Sara laughed, “Seriously, Liara sent Aria a sex tape.”

“Payback for something Aria did and said… during our wedding reception actually.” Jane explained.

“Man… I wish I was there to hear it,” Scott complained as he sipped his drink.

Jane glanced to Ellen but she just grinned as she sipped her coffee, listening to Jane… made the pain; the grief, seem smaller, but she knew what she was really doing was just putting it away for later. “Aria gave us a credit chit for Fornax sex emporium… just in case I couldn’t keep up with an Asari maiden, her words. Liara took the bait and told her I was the insatiable one… embarrassing her on our wedding.”

Scott laughed and Sara followed him.

“For the most part, Thea and I stay out of their spat, it’s been going on since they met when I was dead. Aria hit on her, she turned her down…” Jane explained.

“Wow… turning down Aria,” Sara stated.

“On Omega,” Jane added, “Since then… Aria has wanted to… fuck the smug out of her, her words.”

Ellen took a deep breath, “At least you’ll never be bored.”

Jane grinned, “Definitely.”

“So… grandbabies?” Ellen asked again trying to delay the crushing grief.

Jane’s grin turned into a full-blown smile. “Yeah, Liara can’t get pregnant for at least another two or three years, Doctors orders.”

Ellen frowned for a moment before she realised why, “Right… she was really young, for an Asari, when Alec first spoke to her.”

Jane nodded, “It is likely I will give birth first, as much as I want little blue babies, Liara wants a little miniature me.”

Ellen frowned.

“Oh… Ashley and I have agreed, only one of us is allowed to have a child at any one time. we have a pretty good chain of command on the Normandy, Ashley is in charge if I’m not aboard, Miranda becomes her second and mine if Ashley is pregnant.” Jane stated correctly guessing her thoughts.

“And if Miranda is preg…” Ellen stopped mid word as she noticed Jane’s hard look. Pregnancy was obviously a sore spot for Miranda and she now knew to be careful around that subject with her.

“Miranda was genetically engineered by her father, to be perfect, however, child bearing is impossible for her. Even my tech can’t fix that. However, Jack can conceive and carry… but she doesn’t want to hurt Miranda… she’ll do it for Miranda in a heartbeat and we can use an egg from both of them so that the child is genetically theirs but it is still a sore point. So, Jack waits until Miranda is ready.” Jane explained.

Ellen put down her empty cup, Jane reached over and gripped her knee, “I’m sorry.”

Ellen frowned not understanding why Jane is apologising.

“We’ve had three years, our grief, doesn’t crush us; like it did back when I first got here.” Jane explained and as if the dam broke inside Ellen started to cry. Reaching down Jane slid off her shoes then Ellen’s before picking her up and carrying her upstairs to her very large bed. By the time the twins joined them Jane was slightly propped up on the head board and was cradling Ellen on her chest who was trying but failing to sob quietly. Scott and Sara had removed their shoes and joined Ellen and Jane, one either side of her so they could hold their mother as she grieved.

After five minutes of crying the soft tones of a piano filled the air, the therapists had created a special VI, to wean them off the need for constant white noise. However, they wanted to make sure their patients were still getting their sleep. The VI was programmed to monitor the vitals of the people on the bed, looking for signs of distress, then it was programmed to play the assigned music. For the most part they no longer needed it to sleep at night but every now and again they would wake in the morning and the music would be playing.

The music had a soothing effect and slowly the four were lulled into sleep.

~*~*~*~*~

A day later Ellen followed Jane who had been giving her a tour of the commons, Jane walked into a tattoo parlour and over to Jack who was reading a pad. Ellen frowned as she noticed a Geth standing next to an Asari artist who was using an engraving tool on an armour chest plate.

“Hey Legionnaire what are you doing here?” Jane asked.

“Same reason you are, I’m getting some art added to my frame,” Legionnaire answered.

Khia glanced up after removing the bit from the metal to change bits from a fine bit to a larger one, “I finally figured out how to engrave tattoos for our Geth clients.”

“Cool,” Jane replied.

Ellen stopped Jane, “Um… how did you know that was Legionnaire?” she asked Jane.

Jane thought for a moment before she shrugged, “Don’t really know myself with his chest plate removed, but he has some battle scars which make him somewhat easy to identify when he is wearing it.”

“So then how did you know it was him since he isn’t wearing a chest plate?” Ellen asked.

Again, Jane shrugged, “I don’t know… I can tell a whole bunch of Geth apart from a glance. Never really thought about how.”

“So… not a tech thing then?” Ellen asked.

Jane shook her head, “No… our tech doesn’t work that way, you can sense when a Geth is nearby but you won’t be able to tell them apart.”

“Don’t think about it too much,” Jack told Ellen, “Jane’s ability to identify individual Geth from a group of them baffles us all. Mind you it is slightly easier with Legionnaire, there are only three Primes on Defiance but she can identify individual normal Geth from a group so yeah…”

Jane sat on Jack’s chair. Up until recently she had completely forgotten to get a quote from Alec on her body.

“What are we adding today?” Jack asked as she put down her pad.

“Alec’s quote,” Jane replied.

“Okay… don’t know it off the top of my head so…” Jack said as she grabbed a drawing tablet.

“When your backs to the wall…” Jane started to say.

“Use it,” Ellen finished.

Jack nodded as she prepared the quote. “Do you want a break after wall?” she asked.

“Yes,” Jane answered as Jack showed her options. “That one.” Jane pointed.

“Any particular font or case style?” Jack asked as she gave Jane options. For several minutes Jack and Jane designed the tattoo as Ellen watched the engraving. “Now where?” Jack asked.

“Across from Thane’s prayer on my back.” Jane explained, Jack thought for a moment and then nodded, she knew the spot Jane was talking about.

“Okay, you know the drill.” Jack told her as she started to prepare.

Jane stood and unbuttoned her shirt which she hung on a hook, her under shirt was next then her sports bra before she sat in the transformed chair and rested her chest against the back rest.

“Here right,” Jack said as she touched the spot-on Jane’s right shoulder blade.

“Yep,” Jane answered.

Ellen came over and studied the art on Jane’s body, she had seen some of it but not all.

“While you’re here, I’ll check and see if any need a touch up.” Jack added as used a pen to mark out the area.

“You free hand?” Ellen asked surprised.

Jack glanced over, “no… not since I got AR ocular implants, used to though.”

Ellen looked deeply into Jack’s eyes for a moment, trying to see the tech but knew she wouldn’t see it because she hadn’t seen it in Sara’s eyes. “Like Sara’s?” Ellen asked and Jack nodded, Sara had inbuilt scanners now in her eyes and an augmented reality interface which was linked to her omni-tool and Sam. Two years ago, she had woken up to her world looking like a helmet HUD display when she was scanning things, it freaked her out and took a good week before she got used to the new input. Ellen had learnt this when she asked to used Sara’s scanner only for her to explain to her why there wasn’t a scanning function in her omni-tool.

“Yeah, we all have it,” Jack explained.

“Which I want!” Khia called out even as she focused on her work, unlike the other artists she was a lot more integrated with the Normandy because if it wasn’t Jack doing their art, it was her as she was the only one Jack trusted to do her friends art. She was the one Jack poached from Omega, the artist who did Thane’s prayer for Jane.

Ellen frowned; she didn’t have the implants to the best of her knowledge.

“You have to get used to your tech first, then when you are both comfortable, they will build the implants.” Jane explained.

Jack got her tools ready before she touched Jane’s back letting her know she was about to start, Jane relaxed as the buzz and sting of the needles did their work.

“So… why are you with Jane and not Sara?” Jack asked Ellen as she worked.

“She’s doing some Pathfinder work.” Ellen explained, “And Scott is ring hunting with Lisa.”

Jack grinned, “Yeah, we have a family of jewellers…” she thought for a moment, “should get Miri a new…”

“Nipple ring?” Jane teased.

“I wish,” Jack said before she focused for a few moments. “I was thinking necklace.”

“With a nice pendant?” Ellen asked.

“I was thinking a skull,” Jack stated and Jane snorted in amusement as Ellen tried to think of a diplomatic way of encouraging Jack about the gift but also to discourage her skull idea. “But Oriana will veto that idea.”

“Jack doesn’t shop for gifts without Miranda’s twin’s opinion.” Jane explained.

Ellen exhaled in relief.

“Hey… Oriana was impressed with the engagement ring I chose without her help,” Jack defended.

“Uh-huh, and the next gift you gave her?” Jane asked not so innocently.

Jack grunted but didn’t answer, letting Ellen know the next thing Jack brought for her love wasn’t as well received.

“Should you provoke the woman who is tattooing you?” Ellen asked.

Jack glared at Ellen, “I am a professional, I would never do something the customer doesn’t want.”

“Huh…” Jane taunted.

“She loves that tatt… now,” Jack defended with a slight blush, Miranda had not been impressed with the tattoo to begin with, they had a big fight over it as well, but like Jack said, her love came to enjoy having that tatt.

“You tattooed bite me with an out-line of your own bite impression on Miranda’s left arse cheek while she was passed out on sedatives,” Jane reminded her.

Jack grinned, “Yeah I did… but you have to admit… that arse.”

Jane pretended to think but she nodded, “Yeah, even toss between Miranda or Thea for best arse.”

“Yeah then it is between Liara and Samara for best rack.” Jack replied and was surprised when Ellen started to laugh at the conversation they were having, it was very similar to the one she had with Jane a few days ago about Aria.

“And Ashley has the best legs…” Khia added.

Ellen stopped laughing as she considered that comment, like it was a well-known ranking, not something just agreed upon by Normandy people. “I assume this is an official ranking then?”

Jack nodded and mentally sent the link to the page in question to Ellen’s omni-tool, “Although there is debate, some say Tali has better legs than Ashley’s. However, there isn’t even debate over who has better abs between Jane and James, Jane wins, much to his disgust…”

“They are very sexy abs,” Khia remarked.

“And many agree with you, I’m third by the way,” Jack stated.

“Just don’t stare when Liara is around… she’s… possessive,” Jane told the room. “Actually, no, stare, it’s really hot when she gets all possessive.” Jack chuckled in amusement as she had seen Liara get scary possessive a few times.

“Only because you aren’t the one, she turns her ire at,” Khia called as she used compressed air to clear the site.

Jane and Jack started to bicker with Khia as Jack and Khia did their work.

Ellen sat and watched, she was really starting to see the Jane she remembered before she lost her parents, carefree and goofy. She thought that Jane had lost this side to her when she lost her parents and went through the horror of the attack on Mindoir, but it was back and silently, she thanked her friends for bringing this Jane back.

~*~*~*~*~

Jane crossed her arms as she waited for the Ark to finish docking with Defiance two days later, it couldn’t dock with Pathfinder’s Rest because at the moment there wasn’t a dock compatible, Tali and Sara were with her. She studied the scans they had done on the Arks approach; her sphere hovered before her and displayed their readings. “The damage is more extensive than you were led to believe.” Jane told Sara who sighed.

“Does not surprise me.” Sara remarked as she too was looking at the scans, almost surprised that the Ark had even made it here.

“I have seen worse ships in the flotilla, we still managed to get them to work.” Tali added. “But we did not have to deal with the Scourge.” She added.

“Legionnaire, inform the work teams the damage is greater than we were led to believe, I will send copies of the scans to you to give to them then come here.” Jane ordered through her comms before she sent the scans of the Ark to him.

“Yes, Shepard Commander.” Legionnaire answered.

“Should we get the Admiralty board here now?” Jane asked.

“No… we’ll try our way first and only bring the board in if we must.” Tali answered.

“Not going to put on your helmet?” Sara asked.

“No, bosh’tets need to see how things have changed for Quarians.” Tali explained even as her eyes focused on the approaching Quarian pair. None of the Quarians on Defiance wore helmets, at least while they were on Defiance, anywhere else like Tali they had to wear a helmet at least until the air proved safe.

“Keelah si’yah Pathfinder Telem’Yered vas Keelah Si’yah, Captain Qetsi’Olam vas Keelah Si’yah and Sam.” Jane greeted using Quarian practises but the pair were completely focused on Tali.

“You… aren’t…” Telem started to say.

“I don’t need an enviro suit,” Tali answered. “I wear one because it is a part of Quarian culture.” To this day Quarians back in the Milky Way wore their enviro suits, only without their helmets as like the Quarians here they simply didn’t need it.

“You are Tali’Zorah vas Neema?” Qetsi’Olam questioned.

“Actually, I am Admiral Tali’Zorah vas Normandy,” Tali corrected dryly.

“And I am Supreme Fleet Commander Urdnot Jane Siha Shepard vas Normandy,” Jane added with a slightly disapproving tone as they hadn’t even replied to her greeting.

“Pathfinder Sara Ryder,” Sara slid in trying to break the tension.

“Please… forgive us…” Qestsi told Jane, “We were just so shocked to see a Quarian not in…” he stopped and started to back away as Legionnaire walked forward.

“Geth!” Telem exclaimed and went to reach for her shotgun at the small of her back but paused as Tali moved to stand before Legionnaire.

“You do not need to protect me Tali,” He told her as he rested a hand on her shoulder.

“You are my friend, of course I protect you, you bosh’tet.” Tali told him and gave him a whack. “By the way… love your art.” She said referring to the N7 nestled beside a Rannoch lily engraved into his chest plate.

“Khia wants to add paint… I am unsure though, I like the engraving… but she says paint will make it pop more,” Legionnaire told her as he touched the engraving.

“Always listen to your artist,” Tali told him and then glanced back to the Quarians in their full enviro suits.

“Greetings, I’m Legionnaire,” He greeted the Quarian pair.

“There is a long story which will explain everything, but suffice to say things have changed,” Tali explained.

“Please follow us,” Jane told them.

“Shepard Commander, I take it we will hold off on the Geth work crews for now and only send in the organic crews?” Legionnaire asked correctly interpretating the situation. Jane nodded although she knew for a fact the moment her people knew the Geth weren’t welcome they would walk away and wait until their friends were also welcome.

“The Geth have been our allies and friends for a long time, they can be trusted.” Tali told Telem.

“No…” Telem told them firmly.

“Let’s tell our story first,” Jane compromised, “Legionnaire hold off the geth workers for now.”

Legionnaire nodded, “Bolts wanted more time to fabricate parts so we will work on that for now. I’ll let them know now.”

Jane nodded, “Thanks buddy.”

Legionnaire walked off to the gathered work crews and went to explain why only the organic workers would be going onto the Keelah Si’yah. Tammy pushed pass him and stormed forward, “Boss… a word…”

Jane sighed, knowing what was coming, “Yes Tammy.”

“My work crews have Geth members,” Tammy stated, “no them, no work crews.” She turned back to the teams, “BACK TO YOUR NORMAL DUTIES!” she ordered but the teams were already walking off having decided to refuse to go aboard.

“You totally expected that,” Sara stated and Jane nodded.

“Yep,” Jane answered, “Although consider yourselves lucky she didn’t deck either of you.” She told the pair.

“They are geth,” Qetsi said trying to understand.

“They are our friends,” Tali and Jane corrected as one.

“This story you referred to… it will explain everything?” Qetsi asked and got nods.

“This way,” Jane told them and led them to a nearby office.

Edi was there and had prepared everything, “All done, now excuse me.” She said as she brushed pass the Quarian guests without so much as a friendly greeting.

“I would say forgive her… but the story will explain her dislike of you.” Jane explained as she gestured to the seats.

“What did we do to her, we’ve never met,” Telem asked.

“Edi… is a fully sentient AI, and is aware of your dislike of those who are like her, after all, you have a shackled SAM.” Tali explained.

Qetsi jerked to the closed door, “That was an AI?” he questioned completely shocked as there was nothing in her manner which hinted at it.

“In her body, again the story will explain that,” Jane explained as the door opened and a woman walked in with a red cart, she put it against the wall and left.

“Your people don’t seem friendly,” Telem remarked.

“You are hard line anti Geth, we are close friends with Geth,” Jane shot back. “There is food on the red cart for you, watch the story.”

Tali, Sara and Jane moved off as the pair prepared to watch, they worked silently on any paperwork or projects they could.

 _You okay Sam, you are being awfully quiet._ Sara asked silently.

 _I did not wish to aggravate the situation._ Sam told her.

 _I think we’ll have to bring in the Admiralty board,_ Tali remarked silently.

 _Looks like it, so shocked Tammy didn’t punch one of them._ Jane added as she rolled her neck.

 _She would have broken a helmet if she had,_ Sara stated firmly having seen Tammy spar during a training session, she was a scrappy south paw street fighter.

Thea joined them and silently worked as they waited for them to finish playing the Heleus recording of Jane and Sara’s story.

Sara noticed they had stopped watching so stood and went to them, “Now to explain what happened after,” she quickly went through the process of the Pathfinders becoming independent, of the arks putting their foot down against the Nexus, she also showed her evidence of each event.

“So… before we escort you to Meridian, your SAM will have to be unshackled and the node moved.” Sara told her firmly.

Telem turned to Qetsi, she would be separated from her love.

“If you want you can relinquish your role as Pathfinder to another Quarian.” Thea told her.

“But not me…” Tali added before the suggestion could be made. “I can’t have a Pathfinder implant installed.” She added, a lie, in theory her tech could build a Pathfinder implant but she was a member of Defiance and Normandy, she simply couldn’t be a Pathfinder because her allegiance was elsewhere.

“However, as a stellar cartographer you really shouldn’t give up your position as Pathfinder.” Jane remarked, “Pathfinders have access to all maps, both Star charts and Scourge maps and are the ones creating them.”

“Your partner can relinquish his role as Captain and move to Pathfinders Rest to be with you, eventually he can pilot your ship when you get it. However, unshackling SAM is non-negotiable, it will be done and has to be done.” Sara added with finality.

“So, you are in charge of the Pathfinders?” Telem asked.

Sara nodded, “Yep, Vederia Damali the Asari Pathfinder, Lumont Hayjer the Salarian Pathfinder, Avitus Rix the Turian Pathfinder and Andraknor the Angara Pathfinder as well as their SAMs chose me to be the boss.”

“Oh, how is Andraknor doing with Pas?” Tali asked, once she had fixed Paarchero she had then gone on the create the Angaran SAM who had already been named by the Angara, Pas.

“He is having fun teaching Pas what it is to be the Angaran SAM,” Sara explained with a smile.

Jane walked over, “So… do we need to call the Admiralty board?”

“No,” Telem told her, as much as she distrusted the whole idea of artificial intelligence the fact of the matter was the Milky Way did not feel that way, far from it in fact they have been living with AI for over half a millennia and hadn’t had many issues.

Jane nodded, “it’s a lot to take in, we’ll take you back to the Keelah Si’yah, unshackle Si’yah, have a chat with them and then, let you can discuss your next move after doing your own research, heck you can even contact the Admiralty board or the Quarian representative on the Council.”

~*~

Sara rolled her neck as they left the Keelah Si’yah several hours later, “I really thought we were going to have to call in the admirals, have a real big argument.”

Jane nodded; she had thought the same but after seeing their story Telem seemed to do a 180.

“Maybe, us defending the Geth so vehemently helped.” Tali added.

“Mmm… we shall see if Telem and Si’yah can reach a mutual understanding. If not… I’ll force them apart; I will not have Si’yah twisted.” Sara said firmly.

Tammy was pacing as she waited for them. The moment she spotted them she stopped pacing and took a deep breath as they came to stop before her. “Boss… about…”

“Tammy… you have nothing to apologise for.” Jane told her.

“Yeah… but it wasn’t exactly right, I painted us in a bad light.” Tammy explained, although technically a military base and establishment, Defiance was somewhat lax in discipline in certain matters and not in others. This was their home, as such Jane refused to control their lives, as long as they did their work, didn’t break the rules / laws of their home, were true to themselves and what Defiance stood for then Jane saw no need to be overbearing.

“No… you didn’t, I knew you were going to do that. I needed you to.” Jane told her.

Tammy thought for a moment before she nodded, Jane hadn’t warned her because she wanted and needed the real emotive responses. “Okay… so… no reprimand?”

“Nope…” Jane told her with a smile.

Tammy nodded, “Let me know when the work crews are allowed aboard.”

Jane nodded, “Will do.” They walked off to Jane’s quarters and in to relax a little.

“Here put that to your nose,” Jack said to someone. They walked into the kitchen to see Ellen holding ice wrapped in cloth to her nose.

“You okay mum?” Sara asked.

“Fine, my barrier failed to stop the ball Jack threw, it hit me in the face.” Ellen explained, Jack had told her that all biotics could create barriers, some could make shields to protect themselves and others, others could only project it over their bodies to protect themselves but they could all do it, she just had to figure out which one she could do.

“Aalita said no breaks or concussion but if the swelling got worse to use ice,” Jack added as she left them to it.

“Jack is kind of a bitch when it comes to training biotics, but she is really good at training them.” Jane told Ellen.

“Samara said something similar, that it was Jack’s job after the war.” Ellen replied.

Jane nodded, “She became well known for turning out top notch biotics from every race.”

Ellen nodded, she could see that and could also understand how her no nonsense attitude when it came to teaching worked.

Sara carefully pulled away the ice to see her mother’s nose. “Doesn’t look too bad.” She remarked.

Ellen nodded and returned the ice, “I just don’t quite get creating an unfluctuating barrier.”

“Practise your meditation,” Jane told her as she prepared drinks, “manifesting your biotic field and holding it, will help.” Ellen nodded, Aalita, Jack and Samara had told her such. “But not bad for your first few days of training.”

“How did the thing with the Quarian Ark go?” Ellen asked.

“Better than we thought but we’ll see.” Sara told her.


End file.
